Raiders CB Casey Hayward Jr. brings much-needed veteran presence
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Over the offseason, the Raiders made it a priority to get more veteran defensive backs in their secondary. Last season, they just didn’t have enough reliable pieces in the secondary and it ended up being the downfall of their season.
So far, the Raiders have added a number of seasoned vets, including Rasual Douglas, Karl Joseph and Blidi Wreh-Wilson. But the biggest addition of them all was, of course, Casey Hayward Jr.
In a recent article by Ben Cooper of Pro Football Focus, he discussed a comment Hayward made earlier this offseason about joining the Raiders. Hayward joined the Raiders partly due to their lack of veteran experience. Here are Cooper’s thoughts on why that makes a ton of sense for both parties:
“Casey Hayward Jr. makes an important observation: The Raiders’ secondary was bogged down by inexperience last season. Safety Johnathan Abram (drafted 2019) and cornerbacks Trayvon Mullen (2019) and Damon Arnette (2020) all played significant snaps in 2020, although Arnette missed time while on injured reserve. Abram’s 35.9 overall grade ranked last among 99 qualifying safeties, while Arnette and Mullen slotted in at 89th and 126th, respectively, among qualifying cornerbacks.
Meanwhile, Hayward brings a wealth of experience to Las Vegas after signing during free agency. His 74.2 passer rating allowed since 2012, when he was drafted, ranks third among 83 cornerbacks who’ve faced 300-plus targets in that span. Pair that with a 15.4% forced incompletion rate, which ranks first among the same subset, and the Raiders have a savvy veteran cornerback to prop up their secondary.”
The Raiders desperately needed someone like Hayward for his play and his leadership qualities. They needed a veteran in the defensive back room to show the young corners how to be a professional and do their job.
Needless to say, the Hayward signing could prove to be one of the most important signings for the Raiders in recent memory.
Like this article?
Sign up for the Raiders Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning
An error has occured
Please re-enter your email address.
Thanks for signing up!
You'll now receive the top Raiders Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.
