Many Ravens fans have fallen in love with Darius Heyward-Bey. They see a receiver with great speed who potentially could stretch the field which just so happens to be a screaming need of the Ravens and presto, there’s a match made in heaven.
Of course the added bonus here is that Heyward-Bey is a Terrapin – local kid stays home to fulfill a dream.
Seems like Heyward-Bey as a Raven should be a story of destiny and if you think about it he is the prototypical second round pick for the Baltimore Ravens.
And that’s not usually a good thing.
If you consider the Ravens’ history in the NFL Draft, they have a pattern of selecting players with athletic skills indicative of a first round pick yet there is something about the player that invites the slide into Round 2. There’s some lingering question or doubt about the prospect as in, "he’d be a first rounder, but…"
It’s the “but” that kills them!
Net it out and what you will find with Ravens’ second round picks are players who score highly in terms of raw talent, but aren’t necessarily guys who you would call "great football players."
Want examples?
Chris Chester: Most athletic lineman in the draft, but a converted tight end only eight starts at the position. (This may prove to be the team’s most successful gamble of this type).
Patrick Johnson: Pure burner out of Oregon who ran track and once beat Carl Lewis in the 100. Was he a track star or a football player?
Dan Cody: Athletic pass rusher, but some questions about his health (physically and mentally) pushed him into the second round.
Gary Baxter: Extremely physical DB, but could he cover as a corner?
Adam Terry: Huge size and good footwork, but was he tough enough?
You get the idea.
Heyward-Bey could be one of those classic second rounders.
There is a logic that says if a player isn’t a sure first rounder, then you hope he falls into the second where he could be a bargain. But is that really logical thinking? The approach seems rather dangerous from where I sit. Look he’s either going to be a productive player or he’s not. Why waste a second round pick on a guy you have doubts about?
That said there is some logic to the idea that a second rounder is just going to need more time to allow his skills to catch up with his raw ability. Chris Chester might be an example.
Receivers in general take a lot of time to develop. It’s a very demanding position. A receiver has to be able to read defenses just as well as the quarterback. He needs time to see the same things as the quarterback so that in a matter of pre-snap seconds both are on the same page.
You know we all give a rookie quarterback a lot of time to adjust and are even willing to let them watch with the clipboard in hand for a year. But we are not so patient with receivers. We should be, particularly if you are lobbying for a talent like Heyward-Bey, who was told to quit football after his freshman year, and then came out as a junior.
My preference when drafting second rounders is to take players who are just the opposite of the aforementioned gambles. Teams should target guys who are hugely productive in college, but who lack some tape-measure quality that teams want in a first rounder. Ray Rice is a good example. Teams shied away because of his size. Not big enough to run you over or fast enough to run away from you, but hugely productive. Ray Lewis, who very nearly fell to the second round of the draft, is another example (and another Ray).
Demeco Ryans and Devin Hester are other examples. Ryans was a bit undersized but was also SEC defensive player of the year. Hester did everything at The U, but didn’t have a clear position. Frank Gore, who actually fell to the first pick of the third round, is another example. He was good enough to beat out Willis McGahee for the starting job at The U. But he tore his ACL and then ran a 4.65 forty.
In this draft a player like Alphonso Smith might be a player the Ravens could consider. Smith enters the 2009 NFL Draft with the label, “too small to play corner in the NFL.” Don’t be surprised if he’s a future Pro Bowler.
Of course, Smith won’t fall to the Ravens in the second. To me, the perfect second rounder for the Ravens if he’s there still is Brian Robiskie. He’ll fall because he doesn’t have half of Heyward-Bey’s speed but he played in every game for the Buckeyes during his four years, is physical enough to get separation, runs great routes, and has great hands. Plus he’s very smart and is a coach’s kid.
Add it all up and it begs the question, “How do you not rate Robiskie ahead of Heyward-Bey?
Let’s hope that the Ravens do and they land this diamond in the rough in Round 2.
