D.J. Hayden Dies at Age 33; Former Raiders CB Was 1st-Round Pick in 2013 NFL Draft

Former NFL cornerback D.J. Hayden died at the age of 33 on Saturday.

According to a Houston Police Department report obtained by Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle, Hayden was among six people killed in a collision when a car sped through a red light near a freeway around 2 a.m. local time.

Duarte noted four people were pronounced dead at the scene, including former University of Houston cornerback Zach McMillian.

Hayden and McMillian were teammates on the Cougars for two seasons in 2011 and 2012. They were named to the program's all-decade team for the 2010s. Hayden was also a two-time All-Conference-USA selection in his two college seasons.

Despite missing Houston's final three games of the 2012 season because of a near-fatal heart injury suffered during a practice session when one of his teammates accidentally kneed him in the chest, Hayden had a nine-year career in the NFL.

The Oakland Raiders selected Hayden with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2013 draft. He spent four seasons with the Raiders before joining the Detroit Lions in 2017. His longest stint with a team after leaving Oakland was a three-year run with the Jacksonville Jaguars from 2018 to 2020.

Hayden's final season in the NFL was in 2021 when he played one game with the Washington Commanders. He appeared in a total of 92 games during his career, recording 328 combined tackles, 46 pass breakups and four interceptions.