Everyone is following the Maryland Terrapins' standout wide receiver, Darius Heyward-Bey, at the NFL Combine this week to see how he stacks up against the nation's finest. We all now know that he is a special talent in this draft class, as evidenced by his excellent showing in the requisite drills in Indianapolis this past weekend. He has finished in the top ten of each drill he participated in. While this is a great showing, it is by no means a huge surprise to those of us who have followed him at Maryland. We all knew of his physical tools and his ability to put them to use as his advantage, especially in the open field. The only knock against him still exists and that is his ability to catch the football. I thought he made some great and difficult catches in coverage this season, but the so-called draft experts list his hands as his biggest question. At the same time, he still needs to get stronger and put additional muscle on his 6'2", 210 pound frame. However, when you run the fastest 40 yard dash at this year's Combine (4.3 seconds) and the second fastest Combine 40 of all time to the (former?) Ravens Yamon Figurs 4.28, I guess you still can expect to be a first round pick and perhaps even in the top fifteen of the NFL Draft in April. Check out the Combine's Overview & Analysis of DHB at NFL.com by clicking here.
How are the other Terps at the Combine faring against their "competition?" The only other Terp that has impressed so far has been the tight end, Dan Gronkowski. Always chiseled in stature at 6'6" and 255 pounds, Gronkowski impressed the coaches and scouts on hand with his strength and quickness. While his 40 yard dash time was not in the top ten, he did finish 3rd in the bench press, lifting 225 pounds 26 times. He also finished second in the Broad Jump, 3 Cone Drill, 20 & 60 Yard Shuttles. While Gronkowski is not listed on most top five tight ends lists in the upcoming draft, his showing at the Combine should open more than a few eyes to the potential he has to be a force in the NFL.
The other Terps showing off their skills at the Combine so far have been CB, Kevin Barnes, OLB Moise Fokou, OT Jaimie Thomas and C Edwin Williams. We'll keep you posted if any of these guys do anything of note the rest of the week in Indy.