What Kind of Role Will WR Jamison Crowder Have in Giants' Offense?
Jamison Crowder, Wide Receiver
Height: 5-foot-9 | Weight: 177 pounds
2022 Stats: GP 4 / GS: 0. 6 receptions (13 targets) for 60 yards, 0 TDs
The New York Giants signed veteran wide receiver Jamison Crowder on March 23 to a 1-year $1.317 million deal. Crowder established himself as a reliable slot threat in his first seven seasons with great hands and shifty quickness.
Coming away with 65+ receptions and over 750 yards in three different seasons, Crowder’s best campaign took place with the New York Jets in 2019, where he caught 78 receptions (122 targets) for 833 yards and six touchdowns.
Last season, Crowder was a member of the Buffalo Bills. But in his sole season with the team, Crowder suffered a bad ankle injury over Week 4 and would later be placed on injured reserve.
Crowder did not return for the remainder of the season, and come free agency, the Giants decided to give him a fresh new opportunity seeing how productive and efficient he was leading up to last season’s setback.
Though Crowder had a peak season in 2019, the 29-year-old veteran still has plenty to prove and contains a refined skill set that the Giants could benefit from in 2023.
Best Case Scenario
Over the last three seasons, the Giants' wide receiver unit has taken a toll with some tough injuries, and the 2022 campaign was no exception. After Colin Johnson (torn Achilles), Sterling Shepard (torn ACL), and Wan’Dale Robinson (torn ACL) all went down with season-ending injuries, the Giants' offense struggled with stringing together strong drives consistently. Not having a reliable set of wideouts came to haunt the Giants repeatedly last season.
With Robinson and Shepard aiming to deliver productive comeback seasons, the room for another slot option like Crowder is small. Because of such, the best-case scenario for Crowder is turning into the Giants' new off-the-bench, versatility weapon they can deploy when starters need breaks or for creative plays out of the backfield and slot. Should Crowder stay healthy and play in over 12 games, he could fill in the role that Richie James held last season, outside of the special teams duties.
Worst Case Scenario
Due to the Giants having so many injury issues within their wide receiver corps, they went above and beyond by bringing in new talent to ensure that lack of depth wouldn’t haunt them again this year.
So not only do the Giants have four capable wideouts who can play on the outside, but they also have two slot guys in Robinson and Shepard that could be prioritized over Crowder due to their chemistry with quarterback Daniel Jones.
The first of two worst-case scenarios for Crowder is the Giants' wide receiver unit manages to stay pretty healthy throughout the 2023 campaign, and he falls down the priority list due to the competition. The other is that Crowder sustains yet another injury setback that limits his ability to have a bounce-back season.
Crowder will not only have to do his very best to distinguish himself from the rest, which remains a big uphill climb. But he will also have to stay healthy to do so.
What To Expect 2023
Heading into the 2023 season, Giants fans can expect Crowder to be a valuable backup asset that can come off the bench in key situations and fill in for those that need a breather or get injured. His veteran experience and savviness out of the slot are valuable to have among a group of wide receivers that only has two others who are the same age (29) or older.
Though Crowder could get cut come August, it’s hard to envision the Giants opting to do so, seeing how solid he has been for two of the three teams he’s played for. Don’t expect Crowder to show up as he did in 2019, but seeing how consistent he has been when healthy, Crowder has all the tools and experience to play an influential role for this Giants offense.
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