At this time last week, the Raiders made a decision to draft Maryland wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey with the seventh pick of the NFL draft.Every draft expert including Mel Kiper, Bozo the Clown, Ralph from Brooklyn, Steve from Fort Lauderdale and Carl from Chicago thought it was dumb. There's this belief that Al Davis, the man who runs the Raiders, shouldn't be doing this anymore. Some call Davis "Crazy Al" for all the bad decisions he's made.
If you look across the league there are owners and general managers making poor decisions all the time.
Just look at Dallas, where they drafted 12 special teams guys. Think Jerry Jones isn't taking heat for that? Think the people in Denver are happy that Pat Bowlen let Jay Cutler get out of town? Would you like to speak with some Lions fans about the direction of their team?
The Raiders are no different than those teams and their decision to draft Heyward-Bey is based on speed.
Heyward-Bey ran the fastest 40 in the combine at 4.3. The Raiders have a strong-armed quarterback in JaMarcus Russell, who the Raiders want to stretch the field with long deep passes. Coach Tom Cable says Russell is getting better.
When the Raiders were on the clock they could have bypassed Heyward-Bey for Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, but there are issues with Crabtree. He's coming off foot surgery and we believe him when he says he's fast, yet scouts and coaches couldn't time him at the combine or Texas Tech's pro day.
Crabtree didn't want to play for the Raiders. Days before the draft, when doing a chat for NFL.com, Crabtree was asked about playing for the Raiders. He said no comment.
The Raiders did the right thing by passing on him. Why draft someone coming off foot surgery who doesn't want to play for you?
So that leaves us with Missouri's Jeremy Maclin.
He's one of the fastest players in the draft, a 4.3 guy. He injured his knee at the scouting combine and didn't need any surgery. Is Maclin faster than Heyward-Bey? Is there any difference between 4.3 and 4.40 in the 40?
Not really.
The big difference is that Maclin had a much better career than Heyward-Bey. The reasons come from Heyward-Bey playing with different quarterbacks, not to mention that the Terps were trying to run a more balanced offense. Maclin ran in a wide open attack where you pass first and ask questions about the run later.
Maclin seemed to be the better pick than Heyward-Bey.
But we won't know for about two to three years, at least to find out if Crazy Al is really crazy or just plain right.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-02-2009 @ 7:02PM
peacee said...
Maybe that pick wasnt so crazy, but lets not forget this Mike Mitchell fiasco, that may have been one of the biggest stretches I've ever seen. One pick wont make Al look crazy, but considering he's drafted atrociously for the past few years, I feel its safe to call him a bit insane, no?
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5-02-2009 @ 8:47PM
horatiowrd said...
I dont think the craziest of the picks have anything to do with the player, and more to do with the position. The thing about the draft is you dont want to draft anyone any higher than you absolutely have to. If you have a significant need and theres a far an away player, you want to give up the bare minimum to move up. No reaching!! I think the problem with this pick is many people just think the Raiders could have traded down, or just waited to the 2nd round.
Thats the issue, could the Raiders have waited.
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5-02-2009 @ 9:01PM
Stoney said...
Man, all of these guys are young college players. Just because Eddie Munster grew up and became Mel Kiper and he says they are the shit, that is just his opinion. Look at Walter Payton, Jerry Rice, and even Montana and Steve Young. They were all reaches. I'm a Skins fan and I remember people laughing at Darrel Green, 28th first round. Now he's in the HOF. Let the kids play a year. What's the damn difference between no. 10 and 200? Not very much. How many players can a scout see in a season? It's all luck. Johnny Unitas was cut by Pittsburg. James Harrison was cut three times by the same team and he was the Defensive MVP. Al Davis may be brain dead but we won't know for a while.
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5-02-2009 @ 9:30PM
screwface5 said...
whoever wrote this post is right, Heyward Bey is a great wide receiver who might not be the most polished route runner or catcher, but is strong enough to avoid being jammed by a corner at the line of scrimmage and is fast enough to beat just about any corner. He also came from a pro-style 2 running back (one fast running back, and one big strong running back) system at Maryland and Maryland ran the ball alot the past 2 seasons because it lacked a good quarterback, yet had 2 good running backs. So if he was in a different system/ school, his stats would have looked alot better. So judge him by what he does in the pro's in the future.
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5-02-2009 @ 11:54PM
rea2667 said...
yea lets see these guys play first, a couple of years ago we all thought that The Texans were crazy for passing on bush, but now we look at that and it doesnt look so stupid any more...u freking "experts" think yall know every thing and about 70% of the time your wrong...hope heyward-bey has a GREAT season and shuts you morons up (kiper, macshay and all u other clowns)...im no heyward-bey fan just dont like to see Playes get attacked before they even PUT THE NFL PADS ON!
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5-03-2009 @ 12:02PM
marc said...
its funny to me to read different articles about this online and so many people so the difference between Crabtree and Maclin, and Heyward Bey is Heyward bey cannot catch. If he cannot catch was he an NFL prospect? A top ranked WR prospect at that too. OBVIOUSLY he CAN catch. Maryland runs the ball more than they pass and Bey had missed a few games his senior year. Learn your facts and a little bit about football before you judge.
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5-03-2009 @ 12:37PM
geb202 said...
drafting a one-dimensional player in the top 10, who could have been had later, is a massive error.
doesn't matter if HeyBey ends up being a good burner. it was a reach, and an expensive one at that.
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5-03-2009 @ 1:41PM
JeMarcus said...
For the record on Heyward-Bey, he had 13 touchdowns in 3 years of play and was held without a catch for two games his last year, and he was the "go to" guy. Put any spin you want on this, but the bottom line is that the Raiders passed on the most prolific wide receiver for a two year span in NCAA history. Stupid move by a very overrated owner. The raiders are in the position they are today because of continued poor drafting and terrible off season acquisitions. Remember when the Raiders passed on Jerry Rice for Jessie Hester? Hester was faster in the 40 and AL DAVIS said Rice was too slow to make it in the NFL. Remember when the Raiders passed on Larry Fitzgerald?? He was also called "too Slow" by Al Davis. I am a long time season ticket holder in Oakland and have been witness to Al Davis' dismantling of the Raiders, and I refuse to back him or the organization on this terrible pick. I am glad that Kiper and the rest of the analysts gave the Raiders such a poor grade. Al Davis needs to wake up and draft the best player available at a position versus drafting a guy who will win the relay races.
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5-03-2009 @ 4:55PM
chickiebos said...
Good points in this piece. And I really can't see why people are whining about a player "falling" from 7 to 10--big difference. Fall to another round or bottom of the 1st and then whine. Plus, absolutely right on--other teams have made way worse decisions in this draft. The Lions and the Broncos to name two. They let a lot of players get away for headscratchers and Denver didn't fulfill its most pressing needs adequately, and we have no real explanations for why.
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5-07-2009 @ 4:05AM
mcjesus666 said...
al is f'n crazy. My raiders will suck as long as he has the franchise suffocating between his cold reaper hands. Seriously Al, it's time to move on. Thanks for the memories!!!
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5-07-2009 @ 3:30PM
excel1026 said...
If this player is who the raiders like and if Crabtree doesn't want to be a raider, then TRADE DOWN to get heyward-bey. Me, along with plenty of analysts, agree that he'll still be there in the late first round.
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