Going into last offseason, one of the Las Vegas Raiders' biggest priorities was finding a veteran cornerback who could provide stability to their young secondary.
The name that was connected to the team for a while was former All-Pro Richard Sherman, but they ended up signing multi-time Pro Bowler Casey Hayward Jr.
Having several seasons of experience playing under former defensive coordinator Gus Bradley when they were both with the Los Angeles Chargers, Hayward was a natural scheme fit.
Hayward wasn't coming off a great 2020 season, though, as he missed two games and had received the lowest player grade of his career from Pro Football Focus.
Hayward was able to bounce back in a big way in 2021, serving as the Raiders' most consistent cornerback on the outside.
He finished the year with one interception and nine other pass breakups, while only allowing 57.1 percent of passes thrown his way to be completed.
Hayward gave up more than 200 less yards in coverage as compared to last season and two less touchdowns, despite playing in a full 17-game slate.
His PFF ratings rose back up in kind, finishing as their 13th best rated cornerback for the season, with the 14th best coverage grade.
Even as he enters his early 30s, Hayward has shown he still has the ability to be a top-flight cornerback.
As is the case for multiple of the Raiders key defensive free agents, he'll be due a raise coming off a one-year deal, and it'll be an interesting case to see how far the Raiders would be willing to go to bring him back.
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