D.J. Hayden Now the No. 1 Slot Corner

I tried to tell everyone that would listen at the end of last season that 2013 NFL Draft bust D.J. Hayden was starting to carve out a role with the Oakland Raiders. After David Amerson took his position, he eventually took over slot-corner when Neiko Thorpe was injured.

He actually played pretty well in that role while Amerson played lights-out at his position. Then comes the offseason, where fellow corner Sean Smith was brought in to give the secondary a big boost. Amerson and Smith were then expected to be the Raiders’ starting corners.

And for whatever the reason, many expected T.J. Carrie to be the team’s slot corner. After playing some safety and struggling at outside corner, Carrie became a top-10 slot corner per Pro Football Focus. But Hayden decided to fight to carve out a role for himself this spring.

He showed up to minicamp and OTAs this spring and thoroughly impressed head coach Jack Del Rio. He told the media after a minicamp practice, “D.J. Hayden had a really good spring. He really did,. “I’m excited about his development.

“You have a chance to redefine yourself, I really believe that. As a player, it’s never too late. You can redefine yourself, turn the corner and peel labels off that maybe people have for you and create your own. I feel like he’s on his way to doing that this year.

Del Rio was then asked about a possible role at slot corner and he said, “He has terrific foot quickness. He’s intelligent. Those things are definitely factors that help you in that slot.”

Many ignored that, still thinking Carrie would be the slot corner but Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle tweeted that Hayden is the No. 1 slot corner at the first day of training camp. Hayden is now determined to find a role for himself on the team after being delcared a bust.

The Raiders are probably just as determined to get something out of their 2013 first-round pick!

Stay tuned!