Darrius Heyward-Bey

[Yasgur's Farm]

If Brandon Pettigrew is a candidate for our 11th pick, Darrius Heyward-Bey must be considered also.

Darrius Heyward-Bey...
6-2, 210 - fastest/slowest 40 = 4.19/4.37
2006 - 10 GS, 45 catches, 15.4 yds/catch, 5 td's
2007 - 13 GS, 51 catches, 15.4 yds/catch, 3 td's
2008 - 11 GS, 42 catches, 14.5 yds/catch, 5 td's
Career rushing - 20 attempts, 15.7 yds/attempt, 2 td's

Brandon Pettigrew...
6-6, 260 - fastest/slowest 40 = 4.73/4.90
2005 - 9 GS, 11 catches, 11.6 yds/catch, 1 td
2006 - 11 GS, 24 catches, 12.9 yds/catch, 4 td's
2007 - 13 GS, 35 catches, 15.4 yds/catch, 4 td's
2008 - 9 GS, 42 catches, 11.2 yds/catch, 0 td's
Career rushing - 0 attempts, 0 yds/attempts, 0 td's
*February 2008 - Charged with assaulting a police officer.

[LtFinFan66]

where did he run a 4.19 at??

[The Juice Is Loose]

He had the best 40 time at the combine

[LtFinFan66]

ok....but it wasn"t a 4.19

[Yasgur's Farm]

4.25 at combine I believe...
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=56743&draftyear=2009&genpos=WR
They list his best 40 time as 4.19.

[Mad Bomber]

Big and fast? Not a good fit for the Bills.

[EDS]

If Brandon Pettigrew is a candidate for our 11th pick, Darrius Heyward-Bey must be considered also.

Darrius Heyward-Bey...
6-2, 210 - fastest/slowest 40 = 4.19/4.37
2006 - 10 GS, 45 catches, 15.4 yds/catch, 5 td's
2007 - 13 GS, 51 catches, 15.4 yds/catch, 3 td's
2008 - 11 GS, 42 catches, 14.5 yds/catch, 5 td's
Career rushing - 20 attempts, 15.7 yds/attempt, 2 td's

Brandon Pettigrew...
6-6, 260 - fastest/slowest 40 = 4.73/4.90
2005 - 9 GS, 11 catches, 11.6 yds/catch, 1 td
2006 - 11 GS, 24 catches, 12.9 yds/catch, 4 td's
2007 - 13 GS, 35 catches, 15.4 yds/catch, 4 td's
2008 - 9 GS, 42 catches, 11.2 yds/catch, 0 td's
Career rushing - 0 attempts, 0 yds/attempts, 0 td's
*February 2008 - Charged with assaulting a police officer.

Heyward-Bay is a better athlete then football player at this point. He obviously has some upside but taking him at 11 would be a huge mistake. Second round sure, take the gamble, but at this point the Bills need someone who can produce early with the 11th pick.

Plus, I don't think Pettigrew is a good option at 11 either, he would be a big reach at 11. Heyward-Bey would be an even bigger reach at 11.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Have you ever seen the guy play?

He makes Hardy look like a Hall of Fame route-runner and TO look like he has the best hands in NFL history. I'm not just saying that without having any support to back up my opinion, either: Charley Casserly and the crew on NFLN said it the other day when they profiled Heyward-Bey and showed some film of him. They said that he's a guy who should be a second-round pick but who will make it into the first round based on his speed because there are some GMs in the league who are fascinated by speed. They were not high on him and neither am I--IMHO he's a hit-or-miss developmental project at WR.

Pettigrew, on the other hand, is the most well-rounded TE in the draft. He didn't show the kind of speed that some of the other TEs put up or that most expected from him, but he is a good blocker, has great hands, gets open (regardless of speed that is the key), and played well against the better quality teams that he faced in college. He probably won't be the deep threat, who can stretch the seems in the middle of the field, that some of the other TEs in this draft have the speed to do, but, unlike most of those TEs, he doesn't have to develop first in order to become an every-down, in-line TE, because that's what he did in college (where a lot of TEs who played in spread offenses rarely lined up on the line of scrimmage alongside of the OT and were pulled for a blocking TE in running situations). One analyst on NFLN, while saying that he won't be a Kellen Winslow, compared Pettigrew to Jason Whitten. I don't know if I would go that far at this point, but I like Pettigrew a LOT and I've watched him closely the last two years in a number of games (8 or 9 in all)--in some games he looked like a man playing against boys and, when I see that, it is usually a good sign.

I don't believe any player in the draft is a "sure-thing" one way or the other (I've seen too many Top 5 picks who were "sure-things" flop out of the league or underperform and too many late-round picks and virtually unknown UDFAs become stars and even HOFers), but IMHO Pettigrew has the potential to become a very good player in the NFL.

Heyward-Bey could become a big-time player in the NFL with his speed and size, but he has to improve his concentration, consistency and his hands, first to do that. And, it would really help if he starts out in the right offense where he can run vertical routes and won't be asked to run a lot of precise routes early on. He has the sheer athletic ability to become a dominant caliber player, but needs to improve his technique and become more consistent and precise to have a chance to do that on the NFL level. In college, he was the kind of guy who would make a spectacular play one minute and the next pass make a horrible drop or not be in the proper position to catch the ball or would simply disappear for large stretches of the game. While some of that was due to the sub-standard QB play at Maryland while he was there, Casserly and the guys on NFLN confirmed my suspicions that it was also Heyward-Bey's fault as well.

To my way of thinking, Heyward-Bey is a "high-risk, high-reward" selection with considerable risk. Not the kind of player that the Bills should be taking with the 11th pick in the draft. St.Louis taking Avery in the 2nd round last year was one thing, taking Heyward-Bey, even in the first 20 picks of the draft, IMHO would be quite another.

[psubills62]

The difference between them is that Pettigrew is very NFL-ready as a tight end, whereas Heyward-Bey is very raw as a receiver. As LifetimeBillsFan pointed out, the guy is not a great route-runner, and mainly has speed as his advantage. In that case, we ought to take Maclin, who is much more polished as a route-runner.

Heyward-Bey would essentially be another project WR, on top of Hardy and Steve Johnson. Whereas guys like Crabtree, Pettigrew, and Maclin, are much more ready for the NFL than DHB.

[LifetimeBillsFan]

Oh, I like Maclin a LOT as well.

I started watching Missouri games a couple of years ago because of Martin Rucker. At the time Rucker and their other wide-receiver were supposed to be the big NFL prospects and were getting a lot of hype, but I noticed that every time they needed to convert a big third-down situation, they would throw to the fast, little guy who was lined up on the other side of the field. It was Maclin. And, he has only gotten better--and more attention--since then.

The only problem that I have with Maclin, from the Bills' perspective, is his size. He's on the smallish side--a Lee Evans type. And, I didn't think that the Bills would want another speed receiver that size paired with Evans.

Now the fact that they have brought in Galloway and C.Brown has mentioned Holt as possibilities at the # 2 WR spot may mean that they would be willing to go with a smaller guy--even though Galloway and Holt both play taller than they are (we don't really know if Maclin can do that on the NFL level yet).

Still, Maclin is a play-maker and you can never have too many play-makers. The only question that I have is whether he is ready yet to step in and handle press coverage in the NFL right away--that's what separates the men from the boys and the guys who are risks because they will need time to develop. It's easier for a smaller, quicker receiver to get the footwork down than it is for the bigger guys, as evidenced by the way that Bowe, D.Jackson, Avery and E.Royal were able to make an impact as rookies, while bigger WRs like Hardy, D.Thomas, M.Kelly, etc. were not.

If the Bills were to take Maclin and Hardy and/or Steve Johnson were to develop into starter quality players the next two years, they could always slide Maclin into the slot where he would be the threat that they have thought that Parrish could be for them. And, he could take over returning punts from Parrish as well. He is a good return man.

Seriously, however, I doubt that the Bills will take Maclin if he falls to them. Depending on how things go, I see the Bills being VERY willing to trade down for extra picks if they can't get the guys that they want at # 11 (which could happen and would be part of the reason why Maclin would slip to them). While I'm not sure that they would find teams willing to trade up into their spot if things play out in certain ways, if Maclin or Crabtree are still on the board at # 11, I can definitely see a number of teams being willing to give the Bills picks in order to get them (Philly being one of those teams!). If the Bills could slide back to where they could have three positions filled after they use their second round pick, I can definitely see them passing on a Maclin to do that--and would be delighted if they were able to pull that off.

[psubills62]

As far as Maclin goes, he's comparable to Lee Evans with his size, but not his style of play. Maclin runs a lot of the short routes, especially across the middle, where the QB can get the ball to him quickly and he can use his speed to gain a lot of YAC. Evans, on the other hand, is more of a deep threat.

So they're both speedy, medium height sort of guys, but they are very different in the routes that they're most comfortable with, from what it seems. Maclin, imo, would fit our system very well. We need a guy who can catch it and take it to the house any time. Parrish should be that guy, but he dances too much and really isn't a very good WR.

Depending on who they sign at WR in FA, I could see them taking Maclin if he falls to them. It's obvious they want to upgrade and if they're not happy even after FA is over, it could be a priority come draft day.

[Pinkerton Security]

no thanks. another troy williamson. and no he didnt run a 4.25, it was an official 4.30

http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers#tp-tab-set-1:tp-grid-container-bench-press

[Yasgur's Farm]

no thanks. another troy williamson. and no he didnt run a 4.25, it was an official 4.30

http://www.nfl.com/combine/top-performers#tp-tab-set-1:tp-grid-container-bench-pressObviously that trumps my source... but here it is again anyway.
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=56743&draftyear=2009&genpos=WR

[Pinkerton Security]

Obviously that trumps my source... but here it is again anyway.
http://www.nfldraftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=56743&draftyear=2009&genpos=WR

theres no doubt hes a physical freak, but we do not need another project WR with loads of potential but lots of polishing necessary. If we got him in the 2nd I'd be stoked, but with #11 we need someone who's ready to play.

[Tatonka]

he was definately a playmaker in the games that i watched of his.

[DraftBoy]

Ill pass on DHB sloppy routes where he floats alot. He has plenty of skill but I dont see the concentration, work ethic, and focus that I do in other players at his position. His combine was admirable and his play making ability is high but I dont like him as a top prospect.