Darius Heyward-Bey Report

With track sprinters speed Darius Heyward-Bey is a freak of nature. Most speed receivers lack the height or the overall atheltic ability to become dominate receivers. They're all Steve Smith (of the Panthers) wanna-bes. However, Heyward-Bey has the speed that rivals some of the best, but also has great size and leaping ability to be a dominant receiver in the pros. However, he is a bit raw, and will be drafted only by a team who sees his potential and is willing to wait a year or two before he truly begins to make a great impact.
Darius Heyward-Bey He burst on the scene as a freshman against the Miami Hurricanes, in 2006 when he caught a 99 yard touchdown, leaving the defender standing still. Throughout his career he displayed the ability to be a game-breaking receiver. While at Maryland, his stats really don't tell what type of a receiver he was because he didn't get the opportunity to touch the ball like most big time receivers. As a result, he only had 51 receptions in 2008. If he would of been in the right system, I believe he could possibly have been the first receiver pick in the 2009 draft.

Strengths:
Darius is an explosive receiver who is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball. At 6-3, 206, he has good size and is very fast and once he get a step on the defender, more often than not he will score. This is mostly thanks to his great elusiveness and ability to run with the ball. He also has a 40 inch vertical to go along with 4.3 forty jets, which allows him to go up and get the ball when one will think there is no way he will get it. Darius bread and butter is his speed and it allow him to stretch the field and beat the best of the best DB in the country. He also does a good job keeping the ball away from his body when making receptions. He also gets off the ball well, and has great body control.

Weaknesses:
Darius doesn't block well and he does not always run good routes.He also doesn't do a good job protecting the ball. He is mostly a home run hitter and that's part of the reason he didn't have many receptions He also drop to many passes and is a little inconsistent; he will make the tough catch and then drop the easy one. He needs to round his game off and once he does that he will be a complete receiver, but for now he is primarily a home run hitter.

Darius is a good receiver who hasn't yet displayed his full potential. He is very explosive, and can score at anytime. And, if put in the right system in the NFL, I believe he will be a very good receiver. He is still a little raw at the position due to a lack of touches, but once he reach his full potential, he is going to be dangerous. He will need to block better and run better routes to become a complete NFL receiver and with time he will. I believe he is a top 20 pick in the 2009 draft and could go on to be a pro bowl type player in a few years if he rounds his game off.