Darrius Heyward-Bey is overrated. DHB is underrated. He'll be a bust. He'll be a star. Everyone is slinging around opposites on this guy, and this is what it looks like so far: Why: -DHB is very fast. -DHB makes smooth cuts on his routes. -DHB has great leaping ability. -DHB has very good hands. In this draft, he may be second only to Hakeem Nicks in this category. -DHB was under-used at Maryland, meaning that he may yet truly "break out" and become even better. Why Not: -DHB is not a physical receiver. -DHB is not a great ball carrier - He struggles in making defenders miss after the catch aside from purely using his speed. -DHB's triangle numbers and upside will more than likely cause him to go earlier in the draft than he should. -DHB was under-used at Maryland, meaning that he is unproven and may have higher bust potential than other receivers coming out. Feel free to add to/edit the lists. My thoughts? He does what a receiver is supposed to do: He receives. He gets separation from defensive backs, can jump well and doesn't drop the ball. He stretches the field, which is helpful when you want to run the ball on offense (cough cough). If the value is there (not taken too soon), then I think that DHB could very well be the best choice at receiver for the Jets.
i'm no expert on wide recievers, but are smooth routes a good thing? I would think that smooth routes would be easier for a db to cover.
I'm noty a huge DHB fan, and the above point is one of the reason why. I don;t feel he is all that great of a route runner. He is speedy for his size. I jsut think Darrius "Lam" Bay is being a bit over rated after his combine.
type in : WR Darrius Heyward-Bey Highlights Maryland 2008 on youtube(cant post link ...) Draftparty is the usename on youtube. As a former receiver and judging solely on videos on youtube(not all his catches or any games) I disagree with the bolded part his hands are average and his body positioning to make catches is very very poor ! But more importantly !! He never run through his routes with full speed and when watching the QB he loses considerable speed. 2 examples from the video(At 1:03 He stop running his routes and jump.. negating an easier catch and easy touchdown if he had continued his run. By doing that he had no other choice but to use one hand on the ball which makes it an harder catch and he had to tip it? really...Any good NFL receiver(Moss, Fitz, etc.) would have had no problem making the one handed catch without any tipping in that situation and maybe gain some more yards in the process but it might be pushing it a little here. Also at 8:20 his DB is nowhere near him and he had the full lane but he lost considerable speed watching the QB in the process negating again any run after the catch with his gamebreaking speed) As for his body positioning he always fully turn his body to make deep catches ... He just seems unable to make catches over his shoulder or at worst on the side of his body and again gain more yard after the catch in the process. He has gamebreaking speed no doubt about it and he looks deadly on screen passes and on the reverse. It might be unexperience or overreacting from my part but those aspect are huge warning flag (didn't we learn already with Gholston and physical freak). I just see possibly another Troy Williamson in the making... Hopefully for his sake im wrong tough !
.....that's one of the better breakdowns of a receiver's ability that I've seen on this board. Good work, man :up:
Well from what I can find and have read on him, he doesn't drop balls. I noticed what you're talking about with the slowing down, but the play I'm thinking of (crossing route) had him inbetween zones. If he ran full speed through there he would have gotten killed before the ball got there, not just after like it actually happened. When watching how he uses his body to help him catch the ball, keep in mind that on almost every single catch he is getting decked by at least one if not two defenders the second he catches the ball. He doesn't drop the passes, even with him taking those hits. Will he fight for extra yards like Nicks? No. But some people have insinuated that he's afraid of going over the middle, which in my opinion is complete crap. He doesn't shy away from contact, he just isn't that physical and won't break any tackles.
1. How hard is it to catch a screen? He wins a jump ball every now and then and he made a few circus catches over his career. He doesn't drop passes in his highlight tape, because it's his highlight tape -- a lot of times, DHB lets the ball get to his body before he makes the catch. 2. There's a difference between splitting two safeties and splitting two linebackers. DHB never does anything in the short passing game that isn't a screen pass. He's a speed receiver - he's a guy that needs to be in space to do something. 3. Look, I know he shows some flashes at times, but he doesn't do ANYTHING after the catch if someone is in his way. No one can deny that he's the fastest player on the field, but he rarely gets to the endzone. 5 TDs is his career high? That's sad. 4. You can't shy away from contact in football. Maryland did a good job of getting DHB the ball however they could...when you catch a screen or handle the reverse, you're going to get hit. It's part of the game. DHB can't shy away from contact in those situations. When the chance of contact is there, DHB seems to lose sight of the endzone and look for the sideline and/or turf. If he played with the same style as Nicks or Boldin, he'd be a top five pick. There's no doubt that he's the most athletic out of every wideout in this draft -- he's just not a physical player and that hurts his value tremendously. EDIT: ...just watched the highlight tape again - it's all about mismatches for this kid...get a corner on an island, and throw a hitch - get a one-on-one and throw it up - get a slow package on the field, and run the reverse/screen. The speed is there, but that's all he's got.
About the bolded part: I thought that myself , at first look it makes you believe he was standing between zones and creating a lane for the QB to make a pass but wrong look again the replay at 8:10 the linebacker is moving on the right side of the field and he's running on the left side if he ran his route faster the QB would have long time delivered his pass and his path to run couldn't be more free... About the underlined part: This is just wrong ... if he get killed before the ball got there = easy pass interference call!! And for the rest using your body to catch a ball = wrong the only exception made is if you makes run towards the QB(like a hook route) and the QB throw it low this makes it almost impossible for the defender to battle down the pass or get an interception now you have to use your body to protect the ball. Go watch a Randy Moss hightlight or even a ordinary NFL receiver you will instantly notice the difference in body positioning. Again I have not watched him in games and it might happen that this highlights is just poorly made and they missed other great catches.. His hands tough does not look great he looked like he almost drop 2 easy passes just in this highlights. Again his speed his phenomenal and this alone will make him a 1st round talent. I can predict quite easily tough that he will never be a true #1 receiver. Again you are entitled to your opinion I just don't like what I see !
