Martavis Bryant already possesses enough talent to make All-Pro players blush.
Now he’s got a mentor.
Darrius Heyward-Bey, a first-round draft pick who probably never had a chance in Oakland, has taken Bryant under his wing. He wants more for Bryant than what he received with the Raiders.
“I know he can be great,” Heyward-Bey explained Tuesday, the fourth day of the Steelers’ OTAs on the South Side.
Enhancing an already dynamic offense won’t be easy this season for the Steelers, but then, Bryant was just scraping the surface as a rookie. Heyward-Bey said he intends on pushing him to even greater heights.
“When I look at this team, I see the best wide receiver in the league,” Heyward-Bey said, pointing at Antonio Brown.
Then he pointed at Bryant.
“Martavis,” Heyward-Bey said, “has a chance, talent-wise, to be the best to ever play.”
Bryant isn’t exactly Jerry Rice just yet. His rookie season, however, did produce some eye-popping moments, and some extraordinary numbers. He dressed in 10 games and started in three, generally participating only in three-wide packages, but he scored eight touchdowns and racked up 549 yards while boasting an impressive 21.1 yards per catch.
Just how good can Bryant be in 2015?
“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
One thing is certain: He sounds far more comfortable now.
“He was the potential to be extremely special,” Heyward-Bey said of 2015. “There are a couple of things that I really like. For one, I see him putting in the work now. He’s starting to figure out what it means to be a professional. That’s important. Before, he was the man in college. Now this is his job. He gets that now. He’s starting to understand life in a different way.”
The other variable that has caught Heyward-Bey’s eye is pretty important, too.
“You can see it,” he said. “Ben (Roethlisberger) is trusting him now. That’s a big thing.”
Bryant went to great lengths to make himself better during the off-season. He spent considerable time in Los Angeles, studying karate and MMA technique. Bryant is already noticing a difference in his physical ability.
“I have faster hands now,” he said. “I see things faster. I was running routes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then I had workouts and organized fights.”
He also took time to travel to Georgia, where he, Roethlisberger and several other Steelers worked out together, including throwing sessions.
“It was good,” Bryant said. “I think he has more confidence in me. And now, I have more confidence in myself.”
The mentor smiled when watching the student speak of his off-season.
“He’s getting there,” Heyward-Bey said.
Having a mentor is a pretty nice thing, Heyward-Bey acknowledged.
“I would have loved to have had something like that in Oakland,” he said. “Me and Louis Murphy, we both started as rookies. We were 22. We didn’t know.”
At the ripe old age of 28, Heyward-Bey will make sure Bryant always has guidance.
“It’s like Coach always says,” Heyward-Bey said, referring to Mike Tomlin. “The more you can do. I’m willing to play inside, outside, and I’m willing to play special teams.”
Then Heyward-Bey looked in Bryant’s direction one final time.
“And I’m absolutely willing to help that kid out. Because he’s special. I know he’s special.”
he plays really hard on special team and only wants to better the team totally worth a spot i was happy when they picked him up i think he would have had a different carear if he started in the burg
I'm a huge fan of Martavis, thought he was excellent last season and clearly there's been some personal development that should stand him in good stead for this season. With his size and athleticism, he has such potential.
Small point of criticism, DK and JY, but I'm not a huge fan of these videos taking 15 seconds to get to the interview, especially when they're less than a minute long in total.
For all training camps, including spring training, our aim is to give readers -- most of whom can't see these events -- a tiny glimpse of the atmosphere that day.
I don't mean don't post short videos, which obviously I do like to watch, I'm just suggesting you could consider reducing the length of the intro sequence which has the DKOPS logo, then Ben throwing the ball around, then the actual clip. For longer clips, I think the intro sequence as is is fine. I mean it's not a deal breaker or anything, just a suggestion.
One doesn't need to be a success story to be a mentor. As long as the lesson being taught is "These are the mistakes I made at your age, don't make the same mistakes. Look for a different route to find the success your potential can lead you to."
I was struck by DHB's words of wisdom. Seems like a fine leader. Career hasn't gone as expected but maybe he has learned a lot along the way. Good for him for passing along his experiences.
Maybe mentor/coach would be (a) better word(s). Some of the best coaches in sport have done little as players themselves yet they seem to be able to bring the best out in others.
I think he's going to be an elite wr. Those 8 TDs last year were mostly sheer athletic ability. Once he learns the offense and route tree better, recognizes coverage, sky's the limit. Frees up AB, Bell and Heath too. Hope the feed him in the redzone.
It's not Heyward-Bey's fault that the Raiders drafted him way too early based on their speed infatuation and little else. I imagine he could have retired on his rookie contract if he wanted. I actually kinda admire that he's so willing to do dirty work and play special teams, etc.
It very well could be. So much potential. Heath in the middle or Bell as the back. Whew, that's a lot of weapons to defend. Opposing defenses will have to pick their poison.
Some players are probably very cool towards a newcomer at their position who can potentially usurp their minutes & possibly their roster spot. Quite possibly that was the situation for DHB in Oakland - the veteran WRs may have been insecure & didn't want to show the new guys anything.
It's nice to see that he's taking the opposite approach with young Mr. Bryant & thinking more of the team's success than his own individual situation.
I don't understand why DHB is getting beat up for helping Bryant get better faster. DHB spittle not have been taken when he was everyone knew that AL Davis was nuts and his team has/had suffered because of it. I think it is great that he is stepping up and trying to help a young man avoid the pitfalls he suffered thru.
It's admirable that DHB wants to mentor Martavis Bryant. Maybe Martavis can learn something.
But cmon. This seems totally silly to me. DHB has 12 career TDs. Martavis had 8 last year. DHB's most in any season is 5. Who's mentoring who?
And as if it wasn't farcical enough; "Martavis,” Heyward-Bey said, “has a chance, talent-wise, to be the best to ever play." I mean...... what can you even say about this gem of a quote...
What's the total number of catching TD's have to do with any thing?? The article is about teaching and helping a young guy out, which DHB did not have nor did DHB ever have a quality QB throwing him the ball such as Ben.
I hadn't read all these good comments before entering mine above. I really do think DHB sounds like a good guy. I'll grant you, though, that the quote about being the best ever is, shall we say, aggressive...
It takes more than talent and a resume to be a mentor. It takes someone with a humble attitude and the awareness that by doing so, they could be grooming their replacement. In this case, DHB is adding value to the 53rd spot on the roster by doing "Whatever it Takes" That's a Steeler in my book
Martavis Bryant performs arm circles as part of the Steelers' OTAs. -- DAVE DiCELLO
June 2, 2015
Coverage: Bryant getting big boost
by Josh Yohe • Coverage • Steelers
BY JOSH YOHE
Martavis Bryant already possesses enough talent to make All-Pro players blush.
Now he’s got a mentor.
Darrius Heyward-Bey, a first-round draft pick who probably never had a chance in Oakland, has taken Bryant under his wing. He wants more for Bryant than what he received with the Raiders.
“I know he can be great,” Heyward-Bey explained Tuesday, the fourth day of the Steelers’ OTAs on the South Side.
Enhancing an already dynamic offense won’t be easy this season for the Steelers, but then, Bryant was just scraping the surface as a rookie. Heyward-Bey said he intends on pushing him to even greater heights.
“When I look at this team, I see the best wide receiver in the league,” Heyward-Bey said, pointing at Antonio Brown.
Then he pointed at Bryant.
“Martavis,” Heyward-Bey said, “has a chance, talent-wise, to be the best to ever play.”
Bryant isn’t exactly Jerry Rice just yet. His rookie season, however, did produce some eye-popping moments, and some extraordinary numbers. He dressed in 10 games and started in three, generally participating only in three-wide packages, but he scored eight touchdowns and racked up 549 yards while boasting an impressive 21.1 yards per catch.
Just how good can Bryant be in 2015?
“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.
One thing is certain: He sounds far more comfortable now.
“He was the potential to be extremely special,” Heyward-Bey said of 2015. “There are a couple of things that I really like. For one, I see him putting in the work now. He’s starting to figure out what it means to be a professional. That’s important. Before, he was the man in college. Now this is his job. He gets that now. He’s starting to understand life in a different way.”
The other variable that has caught Heyward-Bey’s eye is pretty important, too.
“You can see it,” he said. “Ben (Roethlisberger) is trusting him now. That’s a big thing.”
Bryant went to great lengths to make himself better during the off-season. He spent considerable time in Los Angeles, studying karate and MMA technique. Bryant is already noticing a difference in his physical ability.
“I have faster hands now,” he said. “I see things faster. I was running routes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Then I had workouts and organized fights.”
He also took time to travel to Georgia, where he, Roethlisberger and several other Steelers worked out together, including throwing sessions.
“It was good,” Bryant said. “I think he has more confidence in me. And now, I have more confidence in myself.”
The mentor smiled when watching the student speak of his off-season.
“He’s getting there,” Heyward-Bey said.
Having a mentor is a pretty nice thing, Heyward-Bey acknowledged.
“I would have loved to have had something like that in Oakland,” he said. “Me and Louis Murphy, we both started as rookies. We were 22. We didn’t know.”
At the ripe old age of 28, Heyward-Bey will make sure Bryant always has guidance.
“It’s like Coach always says,” Heyward-Bey said, referring to Mike Tomlin. “The more you can do. I’m willing to play inside, outside, and I’m willing to play special teams.”
Then Heyward-Bey looked in Bryant’s direction one final time.
“And I’m absolutely willing to help that kid out. Because he’s special. I know he’s special.”