Jamison Crowder

After Washington traded for Alex Smith, I knew I'd be high on Crowder. My interest only grew fonder when they brought in Paul Richardson, who should help stretch the field and open things underneath for Crowder. Smith doesn't like throwing into tight windows, as evidenced by NFL's NextGenStats that show a league-low 12 percent of his throws went to a wide receiver with one or less yard of separation. While Richardson and Josh Doctson were mediocre at separating, Crowder averaged 3.2 yards of separation, which ranked eight among wide receivers in 2017. Reports out of camp are that the Smith/Crowder connection has been apparent in the red zone.

Jamison Crowder quickly becoming favorite for Alex Smith

Rich Tandler of NBCSports suggests that Jamison Crowder has quickly become a favorite of Alex Smith, and that he's particularly comfortable throwing him the ball in red zone drills.

Fantasy Impact

We've been banging this drum all offseason, as Crowder fits Smith's skill-set perfectly. According to NFL's NextGenStats, Smith threw into tight coverage just 12 percent of the time, the lowest in the NFL. Meanwhile, Crowder averaged 3.2 yards of separation at target, which ranked eighth among all wide receivers. After getting off to a slow start last season that seemed to be due to injury, Crowder heated up down the stretch, totaling 47 receptions for 640 yards and three touchdowns over his final nine games played, which was good enough to be the WR18 during that stretch. He's a WR3 with upside for more as we head into the 2018 season.