NFL Draft: 30 worst first-round picks of the 21st century

Al Davis did a lot of great things for the NFL and the Oakland Raiders. He also made his share of blunders. Near the end of his life as the Raiders owner, he was starting to make many of them, with his Achilles heel being 40-yard dash times. Davis was enamored with players that could run and in 2009, one player really caught his eye.

With the general consensus being that Michael Crabtree from Texas Tech was the best receiver in the draft, Oakland shocked everyone when they instead took Darrius Heyward-Bey out of Maryland.

Heyward-Bey had some talent, but Crabtree and even Jeremy Maclin were considered superior talents. However, Heyward-Bey ran an impressive 4.30 40-yard dash. That speed is what sold the Oakland front office on him as a future superstar.

What they didn’t pay enough attention to were his struggles to run routes and hold onto the football. He lasted just four seasons with the Raiders and had only 140 receptions on 300 targets. His best season came in 2011 when he had 64 receptions for 975 yards, but it took 115 passes to get him those numbers. By the end of 2013, he was released.

Heyward-Bey then spent a season with the Indianapolis Colts before joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2014. He’s still with the Steelers but plays a role better suited for him as a No. 4 receiver. Slowly, he’s being taken out of the picture there as well as he’s had just one reception for nine yards this season.