With his breakout sophomore season, Jamison Crowder has shown his ability to have a significant impact on both offense and special teams, in addition to breaking some impressive records.
Making a mark isn't something new for Jamison Crowder.
After a solid rookie season, Crowder has broken out in his second year amidst a strong group of receivers. His on-field performance is just now starting to be recognized, however, for some very unique reasons.
In an article written for *Sports Illustrated*, Jonathan Jones highlights the success Crowder has had in the first two years of his career, despite being just 5-foot-8 and getting drafted in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.
Currently leading the team in receiving yards (725) and receiving touchdowns (6), Crowder has shown impressive strides since originally being drafted as a special teams tool. There is no doubt that his recent performance will ensure he is thought of as incredibly viable receiver in the years to come.
"Coming in they wanted me to be a punt returner, and that's one of the things I can bring to the table. I'll continue to do that," Crowder says in the story. "But at the same time my main focus is to get better at receiver. I feel like I can be one of the top slots in the league if I just continue to work and just get better at my craft. It's really just a label that [draft experts] kind of want to put on you in pre-draft stuff. 'Oh he's coming in as a returner, he's not a receiver.' But throughout high school and college I was productive receiver. I feel like, why can't I be a productive receiver at the next level?"
Describing his career as productive seems like a bit of an understatement at this point. The article remarks that no receiver who is 5-foot-8 or shorter has ever had as many receiving yards in the first two years of their career as Crowder currently does (1,329). He is also tied with Art Monk for the third-most receptions (114) through two seasons in franchise history with five games still to go.
In addition to his work as a receiver, Crowder has also impressed as a punt returner, leading the league in average punt return yards (16.3) and tied for first in longest punt return this season (85), which was the touchdown he scored in Week 5 against the Ravens.
Crowder also discusses his drive to continue to improve, as seen in his increase from two touchdowns last season to six already this year, and mentions his goal of scoring at least 10 receiving touchdowns and possibly two more punt return touchdowns by the end of the season.
With what he has been able to accomplish so far, there is no reason to doubt he won't break his own goal and many more records before the season is over.
