Crowder fits profile of WR Lions are likely to draft

He looked like he was in a video game, starting right, bouncing back left, slithering past one defender, then another, even glancing off the shoulder of one of his teammates as he pinballed his way downfield 68 yards for a rare punt-return touchdown that happened almost entirely between the hashmarks.

Duke was struggling on offense that day to the point it didn't look it belonged on the same field as 15th-ranked Arizona State for most of the first half of the Sun Bowl.

The Blue Devils had just 51 yards of offense on their first four possessions and trailed 20-10 late in the first half when Jamison Crowder gave his team a jolt of energy in what would be the last game of his accomplished career.

Duke rallied to take a fourth-quarter lead then lost on its own special-teams gaffe, but Crowder's memorable performance included seven catches for 102 yards, a 12-yard pass on a trick play for the go-ahead touchdown and that punt return that he said was the most memorable of the four he scored in a Blue Devils uniform.

For the second straight year, the NFL draft is loaded with talented wide receivers.

Three could go in the first 12 picks, another half dozen have first-round potential, and Crowder is one of several middle-round prospects who stand out both for their receiving and return abilities.

The ACC's career leader with 283 receptions, Crowder handled kick returns as a freshman and punt returns for most of his four seasons at Duke, where he developed a knack for making guys miss and getting every yard of field position he could for his scrappy team.

"That's one of the things that they taught me at Duke was not to go side to side but once you catch it, make the first guy miss and just get up field," Crowder said. "You don't always have to score, just maybe a 10-yard gain on punt return. So just be patient and just make sure that you're doing the small things on punt return."

The Lions hosted five return men on predraft visits and new special teams coordinator Joe Marciano has made no secret of the fact that he's looking for someone to challenge incumbent returner Jeremy Ross for his job.

Crowder, one of the draft's cleaner prospects, did not have any contact with the Lions beyond meeting coaches at the Senior Bowl – Kansas State's Tyler Lockett, UAB's J.J. Nelson, Utah's Kaelin Clay, William & Mary's Tre McBride and Missouri's Marcus Murphy were the return specialists to visit Allen Park – but he fits the profile of receiver the team is most likely to draft.

The son of an accountant mother and football coach father who in 1980 had a tryout with the Lions, Crowder has always been advanced beyond his years on the field.

He played his first game of organized tackle football in the fourth grade and not long after was watching tape of his games with his father looking for things he could do better as a player.

In high school, Crowder led Monroe High to a North Carolina state basketball championship as a junior point guard and excelled as a receiver and running back on the football field, where his dad James, the team's linebackers coach, said he scored a dozen or so times in the return game.

"I definitely love punt return," Crowder said. "Just being able to be in the open field and making one guy miss, and once you make one guy miss, a lot of times in punt return that's where you can break one or gain 20 yards."

At Duke, Crowder handled return duties and played as a backup on offense as a true freshman before emerging as the team's go-to receiver with 76 catches for 1,074 yards as a sophomore. He set the ACC single-season record with 108 receptions and was a second-team All-American return man as a junior, and last year he closed his career with his third straight 1,000-yard receiving season.

Just 5-feet-8 and 185 pounds, Crowder has neither the size nor speed (he ran a 4.56-second 40-yard dash at the combine) that NFL teams covet.

But after playing in the Senior Bowl in January and visiting the Atlanta Falcons and working out privately for the New England Patriots, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Houston Texans and Carolina Panthers in the last two months, Crowder has no doubts his skills and production will translate just fine to the NFL as both a receiver and return man.

"I think definitely (I'll have a big role as a rookie in the) return game, and then at the receiver position I think I'll have an impact," Crowder said. "Once I get in, just learn the playbook and just go out there and play, I feel like I'll have an impact anywhere that the coaching staff puts me on the field. That's pretty much how I'm approach it and I'm going to approach it this season."

Wide receivers/tight ends

On the roster: WR – Calvin Johnson, Golden Tate, Jeremy Ross, Corey Fuller, Ryan Broyles, TJ Jones, Andrew Peacock, Skye Dawson; TE - Eric Ebron, Brandon Pettigrew, Joseph Fauria, Jordan Thompson

Needs: The Lions have their top two receivers in place in Johnson and Tate and spent the 10th overall pick on Ebron last year, but they're far from set in the passing game. Johnson turns 30 in September and the Lions know they need an infusion of youth at the position. They hosted seven receivers on draft visits, tied for the most of any position, and brought in two potential first-round picks in DeVante Parker and Breshad Perriman. Receiver isn't that pressing a need, so it's hard to see them addressing it in Round 1. More likely, they take a mid-round tape who can upgrade the return game and push Ross for a job.

Top 3 WR prospects: 1. Amari Cooper, Georgia; 2. Kevin White, West Virginia; 3. DeVante Parker, Louisville

Top 3 TE prospects: 1. Maxx Williams, Minnesota; 2. Clive Walford, Miami; 3. Wes Saxton, South Alabama

Late-round guy who could interest the Lions: Tre McBride, William & Mary

Other players with Michigan ties: Devin Funchess, Michigan; Titus Davis, Central Michigan; Tony Lippett, Michigan State; Devin Gardner, Michigan

Draft talk: It's an extremely deep receiver draft, with Perriman, Nelson Agholor, Jaelen Strong, Devin Smith, Phillip Dorsett and Dorial Green-Beckham joining the top three prospects as potential first-round picks. Cooper, White and Parker all could go in the top 10, and one or more could be playing for an NFC North team next year with both the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings in the market for receiver help. Green-Beckham is a wild card with a long history of off-field trouble, and the Lions hosted a number of receivers with return ability on visits, including Tyler Lockett, a favorite of receivers coach Robert Prince, McBride and J.J. Nelson. Tight end is one of the weakest positions in this year's draft, but the Lions won't be adding anyone there beyond a rookie free agent.