Oakland Raiders: Worst First Round Draft Picks In Franchise History

Darrius Heyward-Bey (Seventh Overall – 2009)

One wishes that Davis could have seen past his obsesssion with speed to the overall quality and productivity of a player before pulling the trigger during the draft. Unfortunately, Davis loved his speed guys and when Maryland receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey clocked a 4.3 40 at the Combine, Davis was immediately in love.

It’s not like Heyward-Bey put up eye popping numbers in college. In three seasons with the Terrapins, he caught 138 balls for 1,958 yards – or you know, almost an average single season for Amari Cooper when he was at Alabama. But Heyward-Bey had that speed.

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Heyward-Bey had some decent games in Silver and Black, don’t get us wrong here. And 2011 was his finest season as a Raiders, hauling in 64 passes for 975 yards and four scores. He had big game ability and speed to burn, but he also had a penchant for dropping a lot of balls.

He played four seasons with the Raiders, catching a total of 140 passes (on 300 targets) for 2,071 yards and eleven touchdowns. He did have a number of notable games with the Raiders, but he was never able to put together any real consistency with the team. Nor did he ever really overcome his habit of dropping the ball.

Heyward-Bey, despite his blazing speed, never did anything to live up to or justify the Raiders using such a high pick on him. He was released following the 2012 season and what makes his pick sting all the more is the fact that receivers like Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin were taken after him.

Next: The 2007 Draft