Will Patrick Crayton and Sam Hurd Answer The call?

An article by Joe D.    1 Comment

With the news of Terry Glenn being released… a move that I applauded, it now falls on our young receivers to step up and fill the void left by his absence. Most notably, Sam Hurd and Patrick Crayton.

Let’s first look at a short synopsis on each player.

Patrick Crayton – After spending his first three seasons as the club’s primary punt returner and as a reserve wide receiver, Crayton had the opportunity to showcase his talents on a full time basis in 2007, because of injuries to Terry Glenn who missed the first 15 games of the season. Crayton filled in admirably as the team’s second receiver position but was unspectacular. He finished with career highs with 50 receptions, 697 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns and 187 of those yards, came in one game against the St. Louis Rams.

Sam Hurd – Hurd was the third receiver for most of the season and finished the year with 19 catches for 314 yards, both career-highs, and his first career touchdown reception. He had three catches and season best 64 yards in the last game of the season against the Redskins.

When you take away Hurd’s and Crayton’s best games of the season, you are left with numbers that are dreadfully underwhelming at best. This season will be their wakeup call. It will be the signature moment that will define the rest of their careers.

Should niether of them answer the call, the Cowboys still have other viable options in Miles Austin and Isaiah Stanback. For now, they are slotted to spend most of their time on special teams, but may be pressed into starting duty if Hurd and Crayton fail to deliver in the early goings.

The Cowboys will give Hurd and Crayton plenty of leeway during the first few games of the season. But if the team falters because of the excess double and triple coverage on Terrell Owens, they won’t hesitate to make a change to the depth chart.

I have high hopes for Hurd, and I believe he may surpass Crayton as the number two receiver before long. I also see a bright future for Stanback as well. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out, and even more interesting to see if Jerry Jones brings someone new into the picture which is always a possibility.