At the Terrapin Football Pro Timing Day in March, wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey said he just needed to make one NFL team fall in love with him.
Heyward-Bey’s combination of speed and size proved enough to endear himself to one of the league’s most speed-hungry teams, despite less than impressive college statistics.
The Oakland Raiders selected Heyward-Bey with the seventh pick of the NFL Draft Saturday. In one of the first round’s biggest surprises, Heyward-Bey was the first wide receiver selected and highest Terp player picked since Vernon Davis went sixth in 2006. After running an NFL Scouting Combine-best 4.23 40-yard dash, Heyward-Bey jumped ahead of more decorated players, such as Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree and Missouri’s Jeremy Maclin.
“I feel like I had the qualities to be the best receiver in the class,” Heyward-Bey, who will face high expectations as an unexpected top-10 pick, told reporters. “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.”
Four of his former Terp teammates were second-day picks in the draft. The Washington Redskins took cornerback Kevin Barnes in the third round (80th overall). Linebacker Moise Fokou (Philadelphia Eagles, 230th overall), guard Jaimie Thomas (Indianapolis Colts, 236th) and tight end Dan Gronkowski (Detroit Lions, 255th) were selected in the seventh round.
After not being drafted Saturday, Barnes said he got about two hours of sleep as he pondered his pro future. The Redskins kept his wait short yesterday. They took Barnes, who is the fourth Terp cornerback drafted in five years, with the 16th pick of the third round.
“It’s kind of ironic that I grew up a [Dallas] Cowboys’ fan,” Barnes said referencing the team’s biggest rival. “But I’m more than happy to be a Redskin now.”
Fokou, Thomas and Gronkowski had to wait a little longer. It was more than eight hours after yesterday’s portion of the draft began when they got the call. Gronkowski was the 18th tight end – and second-to-last player overall – drafted.
But the biggest Terp story of the weekend was Heyward-Bey, who came off the board while the team was still playing Saturday’s Red-White game.
Coming into the day, it wasn’t much of a mystery that Heyward-Bey would be the 15th Terp first round pick in draft history. But being the first wide receiver taken surprised even Terp coach Ralph Friedgen, who made calls to NFL teams to gauge Heyward-Bey’s draft stock as the playmaker decided whether to return for his senior season.
“To move up in the draft and go seventh, I’m just excited for him and for his mom, Vivian, and his aunt and everyone else,” Friedgen said. “It’s a great day for them. I figured it is a great day for Maryland.”
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