Francisco 49ers

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ALAMEDA, Calif. — Al Davis has always prized speed above almost all other attributes when it comes to
drafting players.
So when the Oakland Raiders had their choice of wide receivers to pick with the seventh selection in
the draft Saturday, they went with the fastest, taking Maryland’s Darrius Heyward-Bey over other
higher-rated or more accomplished players.
What made the selection of Heyward-Bey one of the bigger surprises of the draft was that Michael
Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin — the top-rated receivers by most experts — were both still available.
Those two had higher grades, better numbers and more publicity than Heyward-Bey, but they couldn’t
match him in breakaway speed.
Heyward-Bey was clocked at 4.23 seconds in the 40-yard dash in 2006 at Maryland and had the fastest
time of any player at the NFL Scouting Combine at 4.3 seconds to go with his 6-foot-2 size and 38?-inch
vertical leap.
“When you look at the history of the great receivers who have been Oakland Raiders, it’s always been
about that vertical speed, being able to stretch the field,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], take that top off the defense,” Raiders
coach Tom Cable said. “This certainly does that for us.”
The Raiders had a glaring need to find a receiver to complement quarterback JaMarcus Russell, the No. 1
overall pick in the 2007 draft.
Johnnie Lee Higgins led all of Oakland’s wideouts with 22 catches for 366 yards last season, and the
team had just 82 receptions in all from the position. Higgins and rookie Chaz Schilens were the
starters at the end of last season. Javon Walker also is in the mix as he recovers from an ankle injury
that cost him the second half of last season.
“This is a guy that I had targeted a month ago,” Cable said. “He’s the one guy who’s made everyone
better around him. We needed the ability to throw the ball over people’s head, and JaMarcus has
obviously shown he can out-throw most everything. This is a guy now who can go run that down and catch
it.”
Heyward-Bey caught just 13 touchdown passes in three seasons at Maryland, never reaching 800 receiving
yards in a season. He had career-lows last season with 42 catches for 609 yards to go with his five TD
catches.
Those numbers paled in comparison to what Crabtree and Maclin put up in spread offenses.
Crabtree caught 97 passes for 1,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],165 yards and 19 touchdowns last season at Texas Tech and was widely
expected to be the first receiver selected. But there were questions about his speed and a stress
fracture that was discovered in his left foot at the combine. He ended up going 10th to the San
Francisco 49ers, so the Raiders won’t have to look far to see how the decision turns out.
Maclin had 102 catches for 1,260 yards and 13 touchdowns last season at Missouri, where he also was a
dangerous returner. He went 19th to the Philadelphia Eagles.
“I don’t know why I moved ahead of those guys, but definitely the Raiders saw something in me,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],”
Heyward-Bey said. “I feel like I had the qualities to be the best receiver in the class. I know people
look at the stats and everything, but just playing in the pro-style offense and having the skills and
being able to be taught and listen and work hard, I felt like I was definitely at the top.”
Cable compared Heyward-Bey to Randy Moss, one of the most dynamic receivers in the game but one who
struggled in his two seasons in Oakland. Cable said he was attracted by Heyward-Bey’s experience in a
pro-style offense, calling him the best route-runner of the three top receivers and downplaying his
inferior college numbers.
“If you put the spread system at this level, it doesn’t really exist,” Cable said. “Those numbers would
be dramatically different. I think the one great comparison that I did that really showed this was the
right guy for me, if I put him in that same system, he might have been over 50 touchdowns. He’s that
talented.
The Raiders also passed up on Virginia’s Eugene Monroe, one of the highest-rated offensive tackles in
the draft. Oakland struggled at that position last season, but Cable believes that returnees Mario
Henderson and Cornell Green, as well as free-agent signees Khalif Barnes and Erik Pears, will solidify
the spot.
Monroe went to the Jacksonville Jaguars, who had the next pick at No. 8.
Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Tags: Shocker at No. 7

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