WR Darrius Heyward-Bey, Indianapolis Colts

HT: 6-2, WT: 210, Born: 2-26-1987, College: Maryland, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 7

2013 Projections

Average draft position

Current as of May 21st. [Full ADP list]

Overall: D Thomas (173), A Dobson (174), Darrius Heyward-Bey (175), R Tannehill (177)
Position: R Broyles (171-WR58), A Dobson (174-WR59), Darrius Heyward-Bey (175 - WR60), K Allen (183-WR61), B LaFell (189-WR62)
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PPR Average draft position

Current as of May 21st. [Full PPR ADP list]

Overall: G Little (169), J Dwyer (170), Darrius Heyward-Bey (171), C Palmer (172), D Thomas (173)
Position: R Broyles (151-WR56), G Little (169-WR57), Darrius Heyward-Bey (171 - WR58), G Tate (174-WR59), A Dobson (177-WR60)
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Outlook

Darrius Heyward-Bey, the former seventh overall pick by the Raiders in 2009, has been a disappointment considering his draft spot. Oakland is partly to blame for his lack of success in the league through his first four years. Now he'll get a chance to show what he can do for the Colts, after they acquired him via free agency this offseason. Heyward-Bey is known for his blazing speed, but he has struggled with his route-running and has shown inconsistent hands in his brief career. Over the last two years, he has become a threat in the red zone with nine touchdowns in that span. He will battle T.Y. Hilton to be the team's second wide receiver in two WR sets, earning the role opposite Reggie Wayne.

2013 Schedule

2012 Game Summaries

Week 1 - The theme of the game for Oakland was not necessarily the players who were there but rather the guys who weren’t. With both Denarius Moore and Jacoby Ford nursing injuries, Heyward-Bey was the only notable experienced receiver in the Oakland passing game. And the fact that he was notable probably explains why he commanded so much attention. Despite the fact that Carson Palmer completed 32 passes, Heyward-Bey caught just three of them. Most of the time, there was very little separation in the secondary. He did make one terrific catch on a tough leaping sideline grab, even taking a big shot at the end of the play but managing to hang on. He and Palmer showed great timing on a couple of occasions, with Heyward-Bey not even out of his break when the ball was being delivered. It will take some repetitions and a little less attention on him, but the two seem to have a pretty good chemistry so far. Late in the game, Heyward-Bey had his hands on a deep ball down the seam near the end zone but it was batted away by the defender covering.

Week 2 - DHB led the team in targets, but only pulled down 4 receptions. Palmer missed him in the endzone , and DHB tripped on a screen pass in the fourth quarter that could have led to a long gain. Late in the game with a 4th and 4 on the 10 yard line, Palmer threw a fade to DHB off his back foot, but Bay was double-covered and isn’t much of a jump ball WR. So it’s encouraging that he keeps getting targeted, but overall, Heyward-Bay was pretty quiet on the day, only catching a few short passes and not able to get downfield consistently.

Week 3 - Heyward-Bey caught his first touchdown of the year on a short pass where he ran a wheel route from the slot as the receiver from the wide side crossed with him. He caught the ball over his shoulder and easily got both feet down for the score. He was also targeted in the end zone on a deep ball from the Pittsburgh 32 yard line, but the play was broken up by a defender. In the fourth quarter, Heyward-Bey was hit by a defender’s helmet under his chin and fell to the ground unconscious. He had to leave the game on a stretcher and a cart, so his status will certainly be worth monitoring. But it will be a big surprise if he doesn’t miss any games. The combination of Heyward-Bey and Denarius Moore both being healthy at the same time for an entire game is still yet to occur.

Week 7 - In his second game back from taking a nasty concussion, Heyward-Bey led the Raiders in receiving, hauling in 4 out of 7 targets for 85 yards. He got free down the right sideline for a 59 yard catch and run in the first quarter. Later on that drive, he was stopped short on the Jacksonville 3 after catching a short pass; this play set up the Raiders first 3 points of the game. Although he was quiet for most of the rest of the game, Heyward-Bey did draw a 24 yard pass interference penalty on Aaron Ross on 4th and 10, setting up the game tying TD plunge by Palmer. On the other side of the coin, nearing the two minute warning in the first half, Heyward-Bey dropped a pass that would have given Oakland a first down inside the Jacksonville 15. Instead, the Raiders settled for a field goal before halftime.

Week 8 - Starting the game off right, Heyward-Bey broke his route off early on quarterback Carson Palmer’s first pass, allowing Chiefs cornerback Stanford Routt to pick him off on the first offensive play of the game. Heyward-Bey redeemed himself later, catching a Palmer pass on a comeback route along the sideline, and taking it up the middle of the field for a thirty-two yard Raiders touchdown. Heyward-Bey broke multiple Kansas City tackles on his way to the end zone to put the Raiders up by fourteen in the middle of the third quarter. His touchdown catch was his only reception of the day.

Week 9 - Heyward-Bey's first reception came 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage when he was initially held up in pass protection. He caught the ball as Palmer was under pressure and made one defender miss before getting back to the line of scrimmage. His second reception was a curl route that went for seven yards on second and 12. With his side backed up against their own goalline, Heyward-Bey ran a nice comeback route along the sideline to get an important first down with his third reception. The receiver was definitely in a zone in this game as he followed that up by sprinting straight past EJ Biggars and pinning the ball to his chest with one hand for what was an outstanding reception. Heyward-Bey proved that he wasn't just a deep threat in this game also as he caught a pass for five yards on second and three. It may not have looked like much, but Heyward-Bey beat his defender at the line of scrimmage to come free immediately.

Week 10 - It was an up-and-down game for Heyward-Bey on the field. The efficiency of Carson Palmer and the 45 pass attempts as a team helped the receiver to a nice fantasy line. In the first half, Heyward-Bey’s physicality was on display as he eluded the first defender on a screen pass and converted a hitch route into a long touchdown reception. On third-and-long with the Raiders down 20-3 in the closing minutes of the first half, Heyward-Bey bounced off an oncoming Ed Reed en route to a 55-yard score. In the second half, Heyward-Bey’s play was marred by missed opportunities. On two occasions, he had chances to make similar big plays to the first half. He did not take advantage of either opportunity. With tight coverage, Palmer threw an accurate deep pass to Heyward-Bey. He did not fight for the ball and the result was nearly an interception. Later in the second half, Heyward-Bey dropped an easy crossing route which was an easy first down with additional yard-after-the-catch available. While Heyward-Bey had a successful fantasy day, it had the potential to be well over 100 yards. His inconsistency from play-to-play is still present and should be a concern for fantasy owners.

Week 11 - Heyward-Bey led all WRs with four catches for 69 yards on five targets, but did most of his damage in garbage time against sagging coverage. Heyward-Bey didn’t catch his first ball until the first possession of the 2nd half, picking up 13 yards on the comeback. And it wasn’t until the 4th quarter that Heyward-Bey received his next catch, picking up 18 yards on a shallow crosser over the middle against the soft coverage. Heyward-Bey’s next two catches came on the Raiders’ final drive, picking up 22 and 16 yards on consecutive plays, on the same shallow crosser. Heyward-Bey did receive one red zone target in the first half (running the same fade Criner would later get his TD on), but the pass fell incomplete as Streater picked up an offensive pass interference call on a pick/rub underneath in an attempt to spring the WR.

Week 12 - Heyward-Bey was not a factor in the passing game despite four targets. He did not get separation on any of his four opportunities, including two third downs. After a string of solid games, this was rather discouraging for Heyward-Bey. Teammate Denarius Moore had a meager stat line but that was the result of errant Palmer passes. Heyward-Bey’s misses were more a lack of separation and failing to convert on his own.

Week 13 - Heyward-Bey was invisible for large stretches against Cleveland. In the final minute of the first half, he caught his first target, but came up limping. He caught a pretty comeback route against Joe Haden in the third quarter, tapping his toe in bounds like a savvy veteran on the play. Heyward-Bey threw in an ugly drop on a hitch route when trying to make an awkward body catch. He rebounded on his final target to make a contested catch in traffic on third down. It was a 50-50 pass by Palmer that Heyward-Bey won in the air. This game was a true mixed bag for the underwhelming receiver this season. For every solid play made, Heyward-Bey seems to leave one on the field. It is clear that Denarius Moore and even Brandon Myers are the preferred targets in the passing game.

Week 14 - Heyward-Bey caught a five yard out route on third and 10 for his first reception. That reception came on third down when he was five yards short of the first down, his second reception came in the same situation. This time he caught the pass over the middle after bobbling it multiple times. On first and 20, Heyward Bey continued his trend of catching the ball four or five yards short of the first down marker. This time he sat down on a slant route against zone coverage for a 16 yard gain. Heyward-Bey caught a pass against off coverage at the goalline, but couldn't beat a cornerback in single coverage for the first down or the touchdown. Heyward-Bey turned a deep out route into a long touchdown when he evaded a defender in space before sprinting into the endzone.

Week 16 - Darrius Heyward-Bey caught a nice pass on a dig route off play action, a play that drew a flag for a personal foul (hitting a defenceless receiver) that was heartily booed by the Carolina faithful. Heyward-Bey managed to hang on to the football, and that was impressive considering the shot he took.

Week 17 - Despite a limited number of targets, Heyward-Bey did what he could with them. He drew a penalty on an early deep pass from Pryor, then made a terrific adjustment on a back shoulder touchdown grab along the end zone sideline soon after. He may have pushed off a bit in order to get open, but nothing was called. Heyward-Bey was later targeted on another deep ball in the end zone, but that was into double coverage and intercepted by the defensive back with Heyward-Bey not even getting a hand on it. His last deep target of the game could have gone for a huge gain if it was thrown on-target or in stride. Instead, it was woefully underthrown and Heyward-Bey had to stop his route and try to come back to the ball. It could have and probably should have been caught, but it’s not easy to completely stop your momentum, come back to the ball, and make the catch all while going to the ground.