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| Darius Heyward-Bey |
University of Maryland wide receiver Darius Heyward-Bey is a name that gets mentioned frequently around the many NFL Draft sites as a player our New York Giants might be interested in during the early portion of the NFL Draft.
Since SBN does not currently have a Maryland blog, I turned to fellow Maryland alum Rick Snider, a friend and long-time Washington, D.C. area sports writer, for some thoughts on Heyward-Bey.
Here is what Rick had to say.
Darius Heyward-Bey is a late first-round pick largely based on 4.2 speed. Ralph Friedgen's offense has never featured receivers so Heyward-Bey's stats aren't eye-popping, but he has Olympic sprint speed. The question is whether he can adjust to the pro game where the receiver won't be wide open so often. Can he adjust to a more physical game? He should be a second-rounder, but the NFL loves speed and Heyward-Bey has that. If Heyward-Bey flashes a big time at the NFL Combine, he could go mid-first round.
As a Maryland grad, I root for Heyward-Bey. Rick knows him much better than I do, however, and it seems as though Rick has Bey, a 6-foot-3, 206-pound junior, pegged as a tools guy whose actual NFL productivity might not match up to his physical gifts.
Is anyone else thinking of Tim Carter?
Here is another take on Heyward-Bey from Football's Future.
This Week's Mock Drafts
Along with a 'prospecting' piece, I will add a summary of the latest reputable mock drafts. For now, I will do this weekly. As the draft approaches, however, the frequency of these is likely to increase. We will just see how it goes. Anyway, here are some updated Giants' mock draft choices.
- Todd McShay, ESPN: Round 1 (29th), Hakeem Nicks, WR, North Carolina; Round 2, (45th), Fila Moala, DT, USC; Round 2 (60th) Shonn Greene, RB, Iowa.
- Football's Future: Round 1, James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State.
- New NFL Draft: Round 1, Michael Johnson, DE, Georgia Tech; Round 2, Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers; Round 2, Vince Oghobaase, DT, Duke.
- DraftTek: Round 1, Clint Sintim, OLB, Virginia.
- Walter Football: Round 1, James Laurinaitis, LB, Ohio State; Round 2, Kenny Britt, WR, Rutgers; Round 2, Connor Barwin, DE, Cincinnati.
- Yahoo! Sports, via the National Football Post: Round 1, Knowshon Moreno, RB, Georgia; Round 2, Juaquin Iglesias, WR, Oklahoma; Round 2, Fili Moala, DT, USC
Here's a little something extra for you draftniks. It's a value chart from the National Football Post listing players by the approximate place in which they should be drafted. Good stuff.