Casey Hayward Jr. (born September 9, 1989) is an American former professional football cornerback. He played college football for the Vanderbilt Commodores. Hayward was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the second round of the 2012 NFL draft and has played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Packers, San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, and Atlanta Falcons.
Early life Hayward attended Perry High School, where he was a three-sport star in football, basketball and track. In football, he was a three-year starter at quarterback and also played several games at cornerback. As a senior, he led his team to the state quarterfinals by passing for 1,300 yards and 18 touchdowns as well as rushing for 1,284 yards and another 18 touchdowns. He also had four interceptions, three of which he returned for touchdowns. His performance had him named the Region 4-AAA Player of the Year. He was also named an All-State defensive back and an All-middle Georgia player. Hayward was also a member of the team's leadership council and a starting guard in basketball.
As an outstanding track & field athlete, Hayward excelled in sprints and jumps. At the 2008 Patriot Invitational, he earned a second-place finish in the triple jump event, posting a career-best leap of 13.93 meters (45 ft, 6 in), while also placing twelfth in the 100-meter dash, with a time of 11.48 seconds. He recorded a personal-best leap of 6.83 meters (22 ft, 3 in) in the long jump at the Harmon Invitational, where he took gold. He also ran a PR of 22.75 seconds in the 200-meter dash. In addition, he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds, bench-pressed 255 pounds, squatted 400 pounds and had a 33-inch vertical.
Coming out of high school, Hayward was measured to be 6 ft. 1 in. and 185 pounds. He received very few scholarship offers from division schools, which he attributed to being "strictly a quarterback". He was scouted by Georgia Tech, Louisville, Middle Tennessee State, North Carolina, Southern Miss, and Troy.
College career Hayward ultimately chose to attend Vanderbilt University because of the school's academic ranking and the fact that the school is a member of the Southeastern Conference. He immediately played during his freshman year and made his permanent move to cornerback as a nickelback and also on special teams.
In 2009, he was promoted to the starting role and played in every game, although he did miss most of two games due to injury. He was named the defensive player of the week against LSU after contributing 13 tackles (eight solo) with 4 for a loss. He was also named the team's most valuable defensive back.
Hayward continued to make an impact going into 2010 and started every game of the season. He had six interceptions, 70 tackles (59 solo), and 17 passes defended. He ranked first in the SEC and 3rd in the NCAA for passes defended. His performance earned him a spot on the second-team All-SEC as a defensive back by the coaches and media.
During his final season as a Vanderbilt Commodore, Hayward tied the career record for interceptions at 15 (also held by Leonard Coleman). He also made 62 tackles, and had seven interceptions, the third highest single season total by a Vanderbilt player. He was named a mid-season All-American by Sports Illustrated. At the end of the season, Hayward was named a second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation, becoming the first Vanderbilt All-American in four years.
Professional career Pre-draft On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Hayward had accepted his invitation to play in the 2012 Senior Bowl. On January 28, 2012, he made a pass deflection and intercepted a pass by Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins as part of Washington Redskins' head coach Mike Shanahan's South team that lost 23–13 to the North. Hayward was one of 59 collegiate defensive backs to attend the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, Indiana. He completed all of the combine drills, finishing tied for tenth in the bench press among his position group and 25th in the 40-yard dash. On March 23, 2012, Hayward attended Vanderbilt's pro day, but opted to stand on his combine numbers and only performed positional drills. Scouts praised his intelligence and instincts as well as his ability to recognize routes. They also stated that he was a good tackler with good footwork and durability. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Hayward was projected to be a second or third-round pick by NFL draft experts and analysts. He was ranked the fourth best cornerback prospect by NFL analyst Mike Mayock, was ranked the ninth best cornerback by NFLDraftScout.com, and was ranked the 12th best cornerback by NFL analyst Gil Brandt.
Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers selected Hayward in the second round (62nd overall) of the 2012 NFL draft. The Green Bay Packers had to orchestrate a trade with the New England Patriots in order to acquire the 62nd overall pick used to draft Hayward and agreed to exchange their 2012 third (90th overall) and fifth-round picks (163rd overall). He was the fifth cornerback selected in 2012 and Vanderbilt's highest defensive back drafted since Fred Vinson in 1999.
2012 On May 11, 2012, the Green Bay Packers signed Hayward to a four–year, $3.30 million contract that includes $1.03 million guaranteed and an initial signing bonus of $847,208.
Throughout training camp, Hayward competed against Jarrett Bush, Sam Shields, and Davon House for the vacant starting cornerback spot after veteran Charles Woodson was moved to strong safety to replace Nick Collins, who was released due to health concerns. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Hayward the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to start the season, behind starters Sam Shields, Tramon Williams, and primary backup Jarrett Bush.
On September 9, 2012, he made his professional regular season debut in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener against the San Francisco 49ers and recorded one solo tackle in their 30–23 loss. On October 7, 2012, Hayward recorded two combined tackles (one solo), broke up a pass, and made his first career interception off a pass attempt thrown by Andrew Luck to wide receiver Reggie Wayne in the fourth quarter of the Packers' 30–27 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The following week, Hayward broke up three passes and intercepted two passes by Matt Schaub and T. J. Yates during the Packers' 42–24 victory at the Houston Texans in Week 6. On October 25, 2012, Hayward earned his first career start after Sam Shields injured his shin and knee and went on to record three solo tackles, make one pass deflection, and intercepted a pass thrown by Sam Bradford to wide receiver Chris Givens as they defeated the St. Louis Rams 30–20. He was named the NFL defensive Rookie of the Month for October due to his four interceptions in three games. He finished third for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year and was named to the NFL All-Joes team.
In Week 8, Hayward recorded a season-high eight combined tackles (six solo) in the Packers' 24–15 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars. On November 18, 2012, he produced five combined tackles (four solo), a career-high four pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Matthew Stafford during a 24–20 win at the Detroit Lions. In Week 15, he made one solo tackle, one pass deflection, and had his sixth interception of the season off a pass by Jay Cutler in a 21–13 victory at the Chicago Bears. He finished his rookie campaign in with 53 combined tackles (40 solo), 22 pass deflections, and six interceptions in 16 games and seven starts. He was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.
The Green Bay Packers finished the 2012 NFL season first in the NFC North with an 11–5 record and received a playoff berth. On January 5, 2013, Hayward played in his first career playoff game and collected four solo tackles in the 24–10 win against the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Wildcard game. The Packers were defeated 45–31 by the San Francisco 49ers the following game. Hayward earned the highest overall grade of any slot corner ever graded by Pro Football Focus.
2013 Defensive coordinator Dom Capers and cornerbacks coach Joe Whitt Jr. held an open competition between Hayward, Davon House, Tramon Williams, Sam Shields, Micah Hyde, and Jarrett Bush for a spot as a starting cornerback. He fell behind in training camp following a hamstring injury that sidelined him for two weeks. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Hayward the third cornerback behind Williams and Shields to begin the regular season.
On August 23, 2013, Hayward returned for the third preseason game and recorded a tackle, a pass deflection, and made an interception before leaving the 17–10 loss to the Seattle Seahawks after aggravating his hamstring injury. He missed the last preseason game and first six regular season games (Weeks 1–6) with a hamstring injury. He returned prior to Week 8 and was the third cornerback on the depth chart behind Tramon Williams and Sam Shields. In Week 8, he recorded a solo tackle in the Packers' 44–31 victory at the Minnesota Vikings. The following week, Hayward collected a season-high seven combined tackles (five solo) in a 27–20 loss to the Chicago Bears. On November 23, 2013, the Green Bay Packers placed Hayward on injured reserve for the remainder of the season. He finished the season with eight combined tackles (five solo) in three games and one start.
2014 Throughout training camp in , Hayward competed for the third and fourth cornerback positions against Davon House and Micah Hyde for the position as the third cornerback on the depth chart and as the starting nickelback. Head coach Mike McCarthy named him the third cornerback on the depth chart, behind starting tandem Sam Shields and Tramon Williams, to begin the season.
In Week 7, he produced three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Cam Newton to wide receiver Brenton Bersin in a 38–17 victory against the Carolina Panthers. On October 26, 2014, Hayward recorded a season-high six combined tackles (five solo) during a 44–23 loss at the New Orleans Saints. On November 9, 2014, Hayward made three solo tackles, a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Jay Cutler to running back Matt Forte that was deflected off the helmet of Kyle Long and returned it for 82–yards and scored his first career touchdown as the Packers routed the Chicago Bears 55–14. On November 16, 2014, he recorded one solo tackle and recovered a fumble after Mark Sanchez failed to handle a high shotgun snap and returned it 49–yards for a touchdown as the Packers routed the Philadelphia Eagles 53–20. He finished the 2014 season with 42 combined tackles (33 solo), seven pass deflections, and 3 interceptions in 16 games and one start.
2015 Throughout training camp Hayward competed against rookies Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins to be the No. 2 starting cornerback after it was available following the departures of Tramon Williams and Davon House in free agency. Head coach Mike McCarthy named Hayward and Shields the starting cornerback duo to begin the season.
On November 1, 2015, Hayward recorded a season-high seven combined tackles (six solo) and a season-high three pass deflections during a 29–10 loss at the Denver Broncos. Hayward finished the season with a career-high 65 combined tackles (56 solo) and seven pass deflections in 16 games and 11 starts. He played outside corner during the majority of the season, but also played nickelback when Damarious Randall was used on the outside with Shields. Hayward led all Packers' cornerbacks in tackles and with 908 snaps on defense.