Don't Discount D.J. Hayden's Impact as Oakland Raiders Attempt to Rebuild

Sunday was almost a year to the day since the last significant playing time for Oakland Raiders cornerback D.J. Hayden. The 12th pick of the 2013 NFL draft played only eight games due to injury as a rookie and missed the first seven games this season.

Injuries unrelated to the freak accident that nearly took his life during his senior year at Houston have stunted Hayden’s development. In terms of practice and playing time, Hayden is still a lot like a rookie, and he should get plenty of opportunities to prove himself over the final eight games.

Despite his lack of experience, Hayden flashed the potential Sunday that compelled general manager Reggie McKenzie to use a first-round draft pick on him. The team and the fans shouldn’t forget that he’s still a piece the Raiders can build around going forward.

That probably means Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning will get the better of Hayden on Sunday. Manning has roasted many great cornerbacks during his illustrious career, but it shouldn’t take away from Hayden’s performance versus the Seattle Seahawks in Week 9.

It wasn’t a perfect day from Hayden, but considering he had played only a handful of snaps in the past year, it was an encouraging performance. The Raiders desperately need Hayden to develop into the player they believed he could be when they selected him ahead of prospects widely believed to be safer picks.

Hayden got his hands on two of Russell Wilson’s passes Sunday and couldn’t make the interception either time. Officials also threw two flags on Hayden, and both were highly damaging calls against the Raiders.

Fair or not, a tiny fraction of the total snaps defined Hayden’s performance. To be fair, an evaluation of Hayden’s performance needs to include more than those four plays.

The Bad

Officials called defensive pass interference on Hayden in the first quarter that set up the Seahawks to take a 7-3 lead. Despite what Raiders fans may want to believe, the officials made the right call on the field.

Hayden stuck out his arm and created plenty of contact with the wide receiver prior to the ball arriving. In the NFL today, officials throw a flag on contact like this the vast majority of the time.

NFL GameRewind

Despite the penalty, there were positives to report on the play. Hayden was in good position to make a play on the ball. He didn’t need to create the contact to force the incomplete pass. Hayden was also looking back for the ball instead of at the receiver when the ball arrived.

The net result was negative, but that doesn’t make the entire play a bad one. Hayden also drew a flag for taunting after laying a big hit on the wide receiver after a short catch. It was a clean big hit by Hayden, but he has to know better than to stand over the player he tackled.

Taunting penalties were a point of emphasis this season for officials. Hayden’s actions were rather innocuous, but by letter of the rule, it was enough. It’s likely that Hayden’s words coupled with his actions are what drew the flag.

The penalties are what everyone remembers, but there was a lot more to Hayden’s performance Sunday. On a 3rd-and-5 play in the first quarter, Hayden slipped and fell down in coverage. The Seahawks got the first down even though the play didn’t go in Hayden’s direction.

NFL GameRewind

Had the play been in the general direction of Hayden, officials would have called illegal contact on the play. As Hayden is falling to the ground, he trips the wide receiver he was covering.

Later in the game, Charles Woodson fell down and allowed a reception. It’s not what you want to see, but it does happen occasionally even to good defensive backs.

In this case, Hayden actually makes an alert play by tripping the receiver. Had he not and Wilson not been throwing to his right, Hayden’s man would have a big gain and one man to beat for the touchdown. In this case, it was worth it to commit the penalty, and Hayden was just lucky the officials missed it.

Hayden had two other bad plays, the worst of which was horrible coverage on 1st-and-10 inside the 10 at the end of the third quarter. Hayden motioned across the formation that indicated man coverage, and the Raiders sent safety Brandian Ross on a blitz.

NFL GameRewind

The blitz saved Hayden from allowing a touchdown. No blitz, and Hayden might have Ross to help in coverage, but the bottom line is that Hayden let his man get wide open in man coverage. Hayden was playing his man too soft, and that made it impossible for him to cover the crossing route.

On Wilson’s 19-yard scramble on 3rd-and-10 in the fourth quarter, Hayden’s lack of eye discipline got him beat deep on a double move. Hayden gets caught looking into the backfield too long and losses track of his man.

NFL GameRewind

Wilson runs away from the pressure and chooses to get the necessary yards with his legs, but he could have just as easily unloaded a deep pass in Hayden’s direction or hit a wide-open crosser for the first down and more.

Out of 71 snaps, just four or five negative plays isn’t that bad for a player who hadn’t played much in a year and was playing in just his 10th game. Hayden’s issues are all very correctable with experience, and he’s already demonstrating some growth compared to last year.

The Good

Hayden made great plays on both of the interceptions he dropped. They could have obviously been much better had he been able to complete the play by making the catch, but the fact that he came so close to twice picking off a quality quarterback like Wilson is a positive sign for him.

On 3rd-and-7 at the start of the third quarter, Hayden drops what would have been an interception for a touchdown. A missed opportunity for Hayden, but he did force the punt that the Raiders would block for a touchdown on the next play.

NFL GameRewind

The Seahawks called for the natural screen or rub that required Hayden to work around two players to cover his man. Hayden recognized the play so quickly that he was already coming forward even before Wilson released the ball. It’s these read-and-reaction skills that give the Raiders reason to be excited about Hayden.

In addition to the flash plays, Hayden’s coverage was good for most of the afternoon except for those illustrated. Two plays before Hayden’s first near interception, it was his coverage on first down that kept the Seahawks from getting on schedule to start the second half.

NFL GameRewind

With pressure coming from his left, Wilson rolled to his right looking for a completion in front of Hayden. Wilson was looking for his wide receiver, but he settled for his running back, and the pass fell incomplete.

Hayden’s ability to read and react quickly to what is happening on the field gives him a chance to make big plays, make up for his bad ones and to mirror wide receivers in coverage. If he can learn how to limit some of the negative plays, Hayden will definitely be part of the future in Oakland.  

According to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the Seahawks targeted Hayden six times, and he allowed just two receptions for 25 yards. For as many times as teams are going after Hayden, he’s holding up quite well.

Quarter	Time	Notes	Quarter	Time	Notes
1	6:04	Trips and falls. Committs uncalled penalty, but alert play.	3	14:07	Targeted. Great read/react. Dropped Pick-6.
1	5:36	Solid run support.	3	14:50	Good Coverage. Forced Wilson to go elsewhere. Incomplete.
1	5:00	Targeted. DPI, but solid coverage.	3	13:21	Target. Good Solo Tackle. Coverage too soft.
1	3:09	Good coverage	3	10:06	Misstep, but made nice recovery.
1	2:21	Good coverage	3	2:58	Good coverage. Lined up in slot.
2	13:23	Good coverage	3	0:12	Bad coverage. Saved by blitz pressure.
2	5:50	Targeted. Allowed catch, but was not his coverage assignment.	4	15:00	Targeted. Tight coverage. Incomplete on 3rd down. Forced FG.
2	5:14	Good coverage. Sack	4	12:29	Beat on double move. Bad eye disicipline. Wilson decides to run it.
2	4:27	Targeted. Used rules. Incomplete	4	6:54	Nice coverage. Wilson runs for 7. Designed run.
2	2:49	Good coverage	4	6:19	Run Blitz. Assist.
2	2:00	Targeted. Good coverage	4	4:52	Targeted. Allowed catch, but was not his coverage assignment.
2	1:50	Great read/react and quick to close. Taunting penalty.	4	4:43	Dropped INT. Great read/react to ball in air.

Hayden’s 13.3 cover snaps per reception would rank 11th in the league if he had enough snaps to quality on the Pro Football Focus leaderboards. His 0.73 yards per cover snaps would rank third. It’s a small sample, but that sample is solid considering the volume of targets.

If the Raiders are going to hang with the Broncos offense Sunday, they need Hayden to finish plays and eliminate the mistakes. Hayden didn’t have much success as a rookie defending the Broncos’ wide receivers Demaryius Thomas or Emmanuel Sanders.

Sanders caught two passes on two targets for 11 yards against Hayden as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers last year, according to Pro Football Focus. Thomas caught four passes on four targets for 44 yards in a Week 3 tilt in Denver.

It’s hard to believe Hayden has played fewer snaps in his career than three of Oakland’s rookies this year and just a few more than rookie seventh-round pick TJ Carrie at the very same position. If you count missed practice time, Hayden hasn’t had much time to develop at the pro level.

It’s not the time to give up on Hayden just 10 games into the start of his career. The injuries have been disappointing, but that's something that no one can control. With a little development, the Raiders may still get the player they thought they were getting when they selected Hayden in 2013.