When former Maryland wideout Darrius Heyward-Bey first came into the NFL, it was thought he would be a marquee player.
However, he’s become a backup wide receiver in recent years. On Sunday evening, he stepped into the limelight as he caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
Heyward-Bey also recorded a solo tackle on the evening.
While the touchdown was his only target of the night, Heyward-Bey certainly made the most of it. He ended up being one of four Steeler pass catcher to receive a touchdown pass.
Antonio Brown (two), tight end Jesse James (one), and Markus Wheaton (one) also found the end zone.
Entering Sunday night’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, Heyward-Bey had only recorded one reception for seven yards in three games. That came against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 2 in a game where he only saw two targets.
Heyward-Bey also saw just one target against the Philadelphia Eagles in a mind-numbing 34-3 loss in Week 3.
The former Maryland star came into the league with a tremendous amount of promise. In fact, the Oakland Raiders selected Heyward-Bey with the No. 7 pick in the 2009 NFL Draft.
During his time in College Park, Heyward-Bey caught 138 balls for 2,089 yards and 13 touchdowns. He finished his career with the fourth-most receiving yards in Maryland history.
To be fair, that was when Al Davis was still alive and running the front office. David always had a knack for picking players that possessed a great deal of speed.
Heyward-Bey spent the first four years of his NFL career with the Raiders. In that time, he caught 140 passes for 2,071 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He spent the 2013 season with the Indianapolis Colts and hauled in 29 passes for 309 yards and a touchdown.
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Heyward-Bey has spent the past three seasons in the Steel City. He’s coming off a campaign in which he caught 21 passes for 314 yards and a pair of touchdowns.