Veteran Casey Hayward calms with play on field, poise off it

Raiders cornerback Casey Hayward fondly remembers his seasoned mentors and the relation they played successful his career. They taught him however to survey film. How to signifier and hole — and now, helium realizes, however to lead.

“I effort not to amusement (the younger players) up. If I cognize something, I’ll accidental it,” Hayward said. “But I don’t cognize everything. So what I do, if I similar thing they’re doing, I effort to beryllium similar ‘Hey, amusement maine that.’ And vice versa. … We’re each human. We each tin learn.”

The Raiders whitethorn beryllium floundering, but Hayward is thriving — astatine the property of 32 and 1 twelvemonth aft the worst play of his esteemed 10-year NFL career. He hasn’t allowed a touchdown successful 13 games. Opposing quarterbacks person a pedestrian passer standing of 70.0 erstwhile throwing his way.

Pro Football Focus tabs the Vanderbilt alum arsenic the 12th highest-graded country among 120 this season. And those are simply the tangibles.

He’s besides serving arsenic a sensei successful the secondary, tutoring a youthful radical of cornerbacks the mode Charles Woodson, Sam Shields and Tramon Williams erstwhile tutored him. Defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said Hayward “brings that consciousness of calm” to the full defense.

“He’s got a large perspective. He’s been successful each situations,” said Bradley, for whom Hayward besides played successful Los Angeles with the Chargers. “He’s been connected teams with antithetic records and situations that person taken place. And I deliberation he’s astatine a constituent successful his vocation wherever helium truly utilizes that acquisition and passes it connected to the players.”

He tries, anyway. That’s a constituent helium reaffirmed during a telephone interrogation Wednesday arsenic helium was driving location from the team’s office successful Henderson. He proudly acknowledged however Woodson, Shields and Williams aided his improvement during his rookie twelvemonth of 2012 with the perennially contending Green Bay Packers.

“Showed maine however to beryllium a existent pro. Showed maine however to survey film. Showed maine the do’s and don’ts — connected and disconnected the field,” Hayward recalled. “The things that they showed me, they were really doing. … It benignant of rubbed disconnected connected me, the mode they communicated with each other.”

He wants to wage it guardant with the young Raiders corners similar Travyon Mullen, Nate Hobbs, Keisean Nixon and Amik Robertson.

After signing with the Chargers arsenic a escaped cause successful 2016, helium realized that helium would beryllium would beryllium the 1 to exemplary professionalism arsenic the 27-year-old elder statesmen successful a youthful secondary. All portion blossoming into 1 of the league’s champion cornerbacks with a brace of Pro Bowl nods to amusement for it.

Hayward believes helium was astatine his precise champion during his premier years, ranking 2nd successful 2017 and 4th successful 2019, per Pro Football Focus and its grading system. Nagging groin and backmost injuries hampered his play past year, and helium ranked 69th portion allowing a career-high 5 touchdown receptions and concluding the play connected injured reserve.

The Chargers missed the playoffs, dismissed their coaching unit and chopped Hayward, leaving him with plentifulness to prove. He hired a idiosyncratic cook during the offseason for the archetypal clip successful his vocation and intensified his training, believing helium could look again arsenic a shutdown country with due preparation.

“In my caput I’m similar ‘OK, I cognize I don’t privation to spell retired similar that. So I privation to play a small better,’ ” said Hayward, who signed a one-year woody successful May with the Raiders arsenic a escaped agent. “The squad has done a large occupation putting maine successful presumption to succeed.”

Hayward points to his comfortableness successful Bradley’s Cover 3 scheme, which deploys 3 heavy antiaircraft backs to screen their respective thirds of the field. It’s a strategy helium knows well, dating backmost to their days successful Los Angeles. He’s been targeted a specified 38 times this season, allowing a expansive full of 239 yards aft allowing 631 a twelvemonth ago.

He believes helium tin prolong this level of play for 3 much seasons, provided helium remains steadfast the mode helium has for astir of his career.

“I emotion the game. Love being astir the guys. Things similar that,” Hayward said. “I could play a fewer much years. I would decidedly emotion to play present a fewer much years arsenic well.”

Even amid the turmoil successful 2021.

“He’s got a unsocial quality to subordinate to anybody from immoderate locomotion successful life,” Bradley said. “That’s what I truly admit astir Casey.”

Contact newsman Sam Gordon astatine sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon connected Twitter.