The Pittsburgh Steelers won’t begin training camp for two more weeks, so I thought we would spend this week talking about a few players that many believe will have a decent shot at making the final 53 man roster. Basically, these are players that we can’t quite consider locks, but do consider as being on the bubble.
After reading the recap of the player that we highlight, you can cast your vote as to whether or not you think that player will make the final 53 man roster. Each poll will run for three days.
The fifth player up in this series is veteran wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey.
2013 Season Recap:
Heyward-Bey, who was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, was with the Indianapolis Colts in 2013 and he caught only 29 passes for 309 yards and one touchdown in 615 snaps played. The speedster had his chances, however, as he was targeted a total of 62 times. Heyward-Bey has struggled with drops his entire career and that problem continued last season in Indianapolis. It ultimately led to him being benched and he played just 30 snaps on offense over the course of the last three weeks of the regular season.
In order to get a helmet during those final weeks, Heyward-Bey had to play on special teams and he actually showed some promise on both the punt and kickoff coverage units. He recorded two tackles over the course of the final three regular season games and one playoff game.
2014 Outlook:
Heyward-Bey enters training camp having to beat out young wide receivers Justin Brown and Derek Moye for a spot on the final 53 man roster. In order to accomplish that, he’s going to have to find a way to overcome his drop problem as well as continue to progress on special teams. The only real positive attribute that Heyward-Bey possesses that his competition doesn’t is speed. He’s going to need more than just that, however, if he doesn’t want his football career to end prior to Week 1 of the regular season. This is likely his last chance.
Vote below and tell us the reason why you voted the way that you did in the comments below.
You can view the results here.
Previous Polls:
Will LB Terence Garvin Make The Final 53?
Will LB Sean Spence Make The Final 53?
Will LB Jordan Zumwalt Make The Final 53?
Will WR Derek Moye Make The Final 53?
