Indianapolis Colts unrestricted free agent wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey will be dropping in to visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers and I thought we would have a quick look at the drops that he had last season.
Before we get to the animated gifs, you should know that Heyward-Bey was targeted 58 times last year and caught 29 passes for 309 yards and a touchdown, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s a 50% completion ratio if you are scoring at home. In addition, the former first-round pick of the Oakland Raiders was also charged with nine drops last season. That’s a drop every 6.44 times targeted.
The drops didn’t just start for Heyward-Bey last season, however, as he has 33 for his career in 339 times targeted, according to PFF.
Now, on to the gifs.
Heyward-Bey’s first drop of the 2013 season came in the season opener against the Raiders. While it would have been a tough catch with two defenders on him, you can clearly see that he gets two hands on the high pass.
Not much commentary is needed on this drop during a wide receiver screen attempt against the Seattle Seahawks. He fails to look the ball all the way in.
This is a tough drop to charge Heyward-Bey with against the Denver Broncos as not only is the throw outside, but it looks like there’s some early contact from the defensive back. Still, that’s a catch great receivers will make.
This throw is outside but Heyward-Bey still manages to corral it initially. The gif doesn’t show it, but he drops it as he is going to the ground. These last two drops are tough ones, but you can see why PFF charged him for them.
Heyward-Bey looks like he eases up a little here against the Houston Texans as he feels the contact is coming. The ball, however, hits him in the chest and dislodged by the hit.
Did he really need to leap here? Doink, right of the chest. No explanation needed.
This ball was barely tipped by a Tennessee Titans defensive lineman at the line of scrimmage and causes the flight to change. Still, this is a ball that Heyward-Bey has to catch.
Wide open across the middle and once again it goes right off Heyward-Bey’s chest. Ugly drop.
The final charge drop of the season for Heyward-Bey is a ball that goes right through his hands in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
At this point in his career, Heyward-Bey is looking for one last team to give him a chance. He still has speed and can get open, but the drops just can’t be ignored. Should the Steelers sign him, it will be for the minimum and with no guarantees that he makes the roster. Speed kills, but drops kill more.
