As a rookie, Heyward-Bey was a huge bust. Jokes were made about his skills the day he was drafted, and DHB didn't silence any of the critics with his 9-catch, 124-yard performance in 2009. Is there any reason for optimism in 2010?
I looked at all first round wide receivers and noted which ones had fewer than 200 receiving yards as rookies. Including those who missed their entire rookie seasons, and including Heyward-Bey, there were 32 such receivers. They're listed in descending chronological order, below, along with how they produced in their second seasons:
Wide Receiver |
Year |
Team |
Gm |
Rec |
Yds |
TDs |
N+1 Gm |
N+1 Rec |
N+1 Yds |
N+1 TDs |
Darrius Heyward-Bey |
2009 |
OAK |
11 |
9 |
124 |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Robert Meachem |
2007 |
NOR |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
14 |
12 |
289 |
3 |
Craig Davis |
2007 |
SDG |
14 |
20 |
188 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
59 |
0 |
Rashaun Woods |
2004 |
SFO |
14 |
7 |
160 |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Michael Jenkins |
2004 |
ATL |
16 |
7 |
119 |
0 |
14 |
36 |
508 |
3 |
Santana Moss |
2001 |
NYJ |
5 |
2 |
40 |
0 |
15 |
30 |
433 |
4 |
R. Jay Soward |
2000 |
JAX |
13 |
14 |
154 |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Marcus Nash |
1998 |
DEN |
8 |
4 |
76 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Yatil Green |
1997 |
MIA |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Ike Hilliard |
1997 |
NYG |
2 |
2 |
42 |
0 |
16 |
51 |
715 |
2 |
Thomas Lewis |
1994 |
NYG |
9 |
4 |
46 |
0 |
8 |
12 |
208 |
1 |
Johnnie Morton |
1994 |
DET |
14 |
3 |
39 |
1 |
16 |
44 |
590 |
8 |
O.J. McDuffie |
1993 |
MIA |
16 |
19 |
197 |
0 |
15 |
37 |
488 |
3 |
Desmond Howard |
1992 |
WAS |
16 |
3 |
20 |
0 |
16 |
23 |
286 |
0 |
Herman Moore |
1991 |
DET |
13 |
11 |
135 |
0 |
12 |
51 |
966 |
4 |
Haywood Jeffires |
1987 |
HOU |
9 |
7 |
89 |
0 |
2 |
2 |
49 |
1 |
Mark Ingram |
1987 |
NYG |
9 |
2 |
32 |
0 |
7 |
13 |
158 |
1 |
Irving Fryar |
1984 |
NWE |
14 |
11 |
164 |
1 |
16 |
39 |
670 |
7 |
Clyde Duncan |
1984 |
STL |
8 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
11 |
4 |
39 |
1 |
Mike Quick |
1982 |
PHI |
9 |
10 |
156 |
1 |
16 |
69 |
1409 |
13 |
Anthony Hancock |
1982 |
KAN |
9 |
7 |
116 |
1 |
16 |
37 |
584 |
1 |
Perry Tuttle |
1982 |
BUF |
7 |
7 |
107 |
0 |
9 |
17 |
261 |
3 |
David Verser |
1981 |
CIN |
16 |
6 |
161 |
2 |
9 |
4 |
98 |
1 |
Willis Adams |
1979 |
CLE |
16 |
1 |
6 |
0 |
16 |
8 |
165 |
0 |
Randy Burke |
1977 |
BAL |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
15 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Billy Brooks |
1976 |
CIN |
12 |
16 |
191 |
0 |
14 |
39 |
772 |
4 |
Johnny Rodgers |
1973 |
SDG |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Steve Holden |
1973 |
CLE |
11 |
3 |
27 |
0 |
10 |
30 |
452 |
3 |
Terry Beasley |
1972 |
SFO |
8 |
1 |
20 |
0 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
Frank Lewis |
1971 |
PIT |
9 |
3 |
44 |
0 |
13 |
27 |
391 |
5 |
Ken Burrough |
1970 |
NOR |
12 |
13 |
196 |
2 |
13 |
25 |
370 |
1 |
Walker Gillette |
1970 |
SDG |
13 |
2 |
21 |
0 |
12 |
10 |
147 |
2 |
If you're a DHB dynasty owner, you should have visions of Mike Quick dancing in your head. He had just 10 catches as a rookie in the strike-shortened 1982 season. Then, in 1983, he led the league with over 1400 receiving yards and caught 13 touchdown passes. Herman Moore (966 yards), Billy Brooks (772 yards in 1977), Ike Hilliard (51 receptions), Johnnie Morton (8 touchdowns) and Irving Fryar (7 touchdowns) also put up respectable fantasy numbers. On the other hand, 18 of those 31 other receivers finished with fewer than 300 receiving yards as sophomores.
As far as the future goes, only one of those 18 players -- Haywood Jeffires -- turned out to be a legitimate NFL wide receiver (although the jury is still out on players like Robert Meachem and Buster Davis). While it might be tempting to say that it's now or never for Heyward-Bey, Santana Moss (291 points and counting of career VBD), Frank Lewis (231) and Ken Burrough (455) didn't have great numbers as sophomores but still turned out to be very good receivers. Of course, it's not the early '70s anymore: if DHB doesn't make at least some strides this year, it's doubtful that the Raiders will be patient for very long. For dynasty owners, just hitting the 500-yard plateau might be enough to call it a good year for Heyward-Bey.
Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome to [email protected].