Sleeper Watch

At the beginning of the year, there was some speculation as to which Cowboys wide receiver would make the biggest impact in Dallas. Along with this speculation, there was quite a lot of criticism about the ability of Drew Bledsoe to lead an offense in his twelfth year as a starter and his thirteenth year in the NFL. But in the first game of the season the Cowboys showed that they again have a solid passing offense.

But who was it that led the Cowboys in receptions after week 1? Keyshawn Johnson? No. Terry Glenn? No. Jason Witten? No. The receptions leader for Dallas after the opening week was Patrick Crayton. Fantasy football owners all over the globe asked the question, “Who is Patrick Crayton?”

Even with the recent arrival of Peerless Price, Crayton should do well this weekend. Drew Bledsoe’s passing has been extremely effective over the past three weeks, with an average passer rating of 103.7 and a three-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio. The Cowboys are playing a weak Oakland defense, rated 29th in the NFL and allowing exactly 300 passing yards a game.

I expect Bledsoe to light it up this week against the Raiders, and with Bledsoe throwing touchdown after touchdown, someone will have to be catching them. I believe that all of the Dallas receivers are solid starts this Sunday, and Patrick Crayton is certainly worth consideration if you need a fill-in for a bye week, or one of your receivers is injured.

Daniel Gilford is a weekly columnist for the Cafe and an aspiring young writer. He currently attends St. Petersburg College, and when neglecting his homework can be found posting in the forums as danleroi22.