D.J. Hayden entered the NFL as the feel-good story of the 2013 NFL Draft, having been selected 12th overall by the Oakland Raiders after his senior year was cut short by a life-threatening injury suffered in a practice. With training camp set to start at the end of July and coming off three consecutive unfulfilling years, the feel-good story has lost its luster and time is running out on D.J. Hayden in Oakland.
Time is Running Out on D.J. Hayden in Oakland
After a predictably mediocre rookie season that was abbreviated by his recovery from his nearly fatal injury, many believed 2014 would be the year that Hayden would show his promise in the secondary. Yet the former first-round pick showed only marginal improvement, playing in only two more games than the year prior.
With pressure mounting on Hayden to show signs of improvement and the arrival of a new coaching staff spearheaded by Jack Del Rio, the 2015 season was an opportunity to right the ship that had lost its way in a sea of injuries, youthful mistakes, and dismal performances. But if his first two seasons were merely the rough beginnings of a voyage, then his third was surely a shipwreck.
Hayden managed to enjoy his first healthy season in the NFL, appearing in each game and starting 13, though that was the only positive takeaway in a year riddled with lowly production from the third-year defensive back. Failing once again to show any of the coverage capabilities expected of him, Hayden produced perhaps his most disappointing season to date. By the end of it, Pro Football Focus graded Hayden as the 105th cornerback in the league, a ranking out of 111 total players, and the on-field performances appeared equally as poor as his grades would come to show.
Oftentimes the Oakland defensive back was noticeably out of position, along with consistently being technically inferior and mentally beaten by the receivers he was responsible for covering. And the mental aspect is perhaps the most concerning, as Hayden pointlessly relied on pulling and tugging on players at times rather than trusting his ability to defend them. Too common in the 2015 season was the sight of opposing quarterbacks targeting Hayden with the confidence that if his throw didn’t find its mark, then there would at least be a flag drawn on the play.
Hayden’s persistent penalties have muddled his early career, as he regularly hurts his team far more than he helps. This tendency of Hayden’s has become his most glaring weakness, leaving him as the second-most penalized cornerback last season in terms of yardage with 111 yards on 10 penalties.
It’s clear that the Raiders are losing their confidence with the young cornerback as well, after declining the fifth-year option in his contract earlier this off-season, signaling the importance of the team’s upcoming training camp and 2016 season as a whole for Hayden and his career in the silver and black. Following the emergence of David Amerson in 2015 as a starter in Ken Norton Jr.’s secondary, and the free agent addition of former Chiefs standout Sean Smith, Hayden is out of the conversation for either of the starting spots for the upcoming season. With that said, Hayden is expected to be in the competition for the starting nickel corner position, and as Scott Bair of CSNBayArea.com has noted, “D.J. Hayden spent significant time working as the first-team slot cornerback during the offseason program, far more than other cornerback options.” Competing with Hayden will be returning starter T.J. Carrie, who will likely start a peg-up on Hayden after returning from an injury that held him out of the off-season programs, along with Neiko Thorpe, who made two starts in the secondary last year.
With the selection of Karl Joseph in the first round of the draft a few months ago, Hayden can no longer hold the role of the young project player in the Raiders secondary, and his potential is unlikely to preserve his spot on the roster for much longer. It may in fact be a make-it or break-it year for D.J. Hayden because after the entering the league with valid excuses for his slow development and inadequate production, he’s running out of time to prove that he wasn’t the biggest miss of the Reggie McKenzie era in Oakland thus far.
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