After decades of lackluster defense, it’s starting to feel like the Raiders might be flirting with the idea of having a competent defense.
Watching the Raider defense make stops and create turnovers is certainly unfamiliar territory for Raider fans and it has also been a strange sight to see a no. 29 making plays in the secondary. But that is exactly what 32 year-old Casey Hayward Jr. has been doing.
Through the first two games, Hayward is the third-highest graded Raider defensive player (behind Maxx Crosby and Yannick Ngakoue), according to Pro Football Focus. Even more impressive is that Hayward is currently PFF’s top graded cornerback in the entire league. Of the 200 graded cornerbacks in PFF’s database this year, none have graded better than Hayward.
As it turns out, the Raiders decision to sign Hayward nearly two months after the start of free agency was one of their best offseason moves.
Unfortunately, however, it isn’t all good news in the Raiders secondary so far.
A very recent first-round pick by the Raiders is currently graded by PFF as the 192nd-best cornerback in the league (albeit with a minimal sample size).
Yes, only 8 cornerbacks in the NFL have a lower PFF grade than Damon Arnette.
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