The pick itself drew much criticism, as Darrius was considered a mid-to-late first-round pick, at best.
His season was a major disappointment as he missed the last eight games with an injury, and was only able to get nine receptions for 124 yards and a touchdown.
However, word coming out of Raider camp is that Darrius added 10 pounds of muscle and is a much more polished route runner. He's also been working on fixing the nagging problem of catching the ball with his body, not his hands.
He didn't exactly impress against the Cowboys last Thursday, but didn't really have the chance to, either.
When the Raiders returned to practice two days after the Cowboy game, there was some surprising news.
Heyward-Bey would miss practice because of fatigue.
Raider Nation and I simply shrugged it off, but then it was reported he had missed a second day. Then a third.
Soon, Darrius was ruled out for the upcoming game against the Bears.
All because he was tired.
I'm not exactly buying this. A 23-year-old receiver should not be getting tired enough where he has to miss a whole week of practice and the game.
I think this could be the Raiders covering up an injury, after proclaiming him to be the next great thing in a rare press release.
On the other hand, it could be the result of overtraining this offseason, as first mentioned on Jerry McDonald's Raider Blog.
The latter is preferred, but if it is an injury, it looks as though it will be a minor one. There's no reason for the Raiders to cover it up, if it's a season-ending injury.
We'll just have to wait and see, Raider Nation! Any ideas? What's going on? Comment and hit the "Like" button. Thanks.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
