Raiders: 3 defensive players who have been crucial down the stretch
Raiders: 3 defensive players who have been crucial down the stretch
Casey Hayward – Cornerback
Casey Hayward has been absolutely lights out this season and has been the Raiders’ best free-agent addition of 2021. He has continued his excellent play the last 3 weeks against 3 admittedly poor passing attacks but you can only play the teams put in front of you.
Against the Browns, Hayward gave up 3 catches for 17 yards though one was a touchdown on a broken play that Nick Mullens extended down in the red zone. In Week 16, he gave up just 27 yards on 2 catches but successfully kept his man from scoring.
Against Indy, he was credited with giving up the lucky 43-yard touchdown to TY Hilton but that was an error by both him and Trevon Moehrig. Hayward has yet to record an interception this season but he definitely leads the Raiders in “almost” picks.
Next. Raiders: 4 offensive players who have been crucial down the stretch. dark
Hayward was excellent against the Chargers in Week 4, likely due to his intimate knowledge of the receivers he covered in practice for a few years and we will need another great performance from him in Week 18. Perhaps this is the week that Hayward records his first interception of the year because both he and the Raiders are overdue for a game-changing turnover in their favor.