ESPN's Nation writers identified each team's most underrated player. Michael DiRocco weighed in with the Jaguars for his vote:
D.J. Hayden
He is the Jaguars' nickelback and has been good in coverage against slot receivers. When he is the nearest defender, slot receivers have caught just eight passes for 107 yards, and QBs targeting slot receivers against Hayden are completing only 44% of their attempts, per NextGen Stats. He also is the Jaguars' best blitzer among defensive backs and has a career-high two sacks so far this season.
I know things are pretty negative nowadays (and pretty often with our team every year) but let's remember how good of an addition this guy has been to our team.
He’s actually better than Colvin in my opinion.
(11-20-2019, 09:06 AM)JagFanatic24 Wrote: [ -> ]He’s actually better than Colvin in my opinion.
I don't think there's even a debate to be had.
He's outperformed Colvin handily since the day he arrived. Meanwhile Colvin fell off a cliff elsewhere.
Whatever the general fears were about this signing from a dozen fans here, it turned out that Hayden was a perfect fit to play nickel in this scheme.
Here's hoping he'll be playing in a slightly different scheme next season while still in the same uniform.
He's on the books for one more year at 7.6 mil and worth every penny.
DJ apparently broke or dislocated a finger in the colts game BTW. May be limited this week in practice some.
everyone on this board has been propping Hayden
isn't this his last year on his contract? If so, sign him up! 3-yr deal. Pay him top slot corner pay (whatever it is). Then draft Okudah or Fulton at corner, and then be set there for the foreseeable future
Not to take anything away from Hayden, who has obviously performed better than I expected, but maybe slot corner just isn't that hard to play.
Colvin was lights out and then went from the penthouse to cut in less than two seasons after being paid to be an outside corner. Hayden was one of the bigger draft busts in recent memory for years before being put in the slot and instantly being lights out himself.
(11-20-2019, 09:27 AM)Upper Wrote: [ -> ]Not to take anything away from Hayden, who has obviously performed better than I expected, but maybe slot corner just isn't that hard to play.
Colvin was lights out and then went from the penthouse to cut in less than two seasons after being paid to be an outside corner. Hayden was one of the bigger draft busts in recent memory for years before being put in the slot and instantly being lights out himself.
"Not to take anything away from Hayden"....
LOL
(11-20-2019, 09:29 AM)Rico Wrote: [ -> ] (11-20-2019, 09:27 AM)Upper Wrote: [ -> ]Not to take anything away from Hayden, who has obviously performed better than I expected, but maybe slot corner just isn't that hard to play.
Colvin was lights out and then went from the penthouse to cut in less than two seasons after being paid to be an outside corner. Hayden was one of the bigger draft busts in recent memory for years before being put in the slot and instantly being lights out himself.
"Not to take anything away from Hayden"....
LOL
My bad, insert the slobbers and drools wherever you deem fit.
(11-20-2019, 09:36 AM)Upper Wrote: [ -> ] (11-20-2019, 09:29 AM)Rico Wrote: [ -> ]"Not to take anything away from Hayden"....
LOL
My bad, insert the slobbers and drools wherever you deem fit.
Can't admit a mistake. You're sorry dude.
Not to take anything away from Hayden, then proceed to say it's not hard to play the position.
How sorry....
Quick...find some spider charts..
(11-20-2019, 09:27 AM)Upper Wrote: [ -> ]Not to take anything away from Hayden, who has obviously performed better than I expected, but maybe slot corner just isn't that hard to play.
Colvin was lights out and then went from the penthouse to cut in less than two seasons after being paid to be an outside corner. Hayden was one of the bigger draft busts in recent memory for years before being put in the slot and instantly being lights out himself.
Wow. Really digging deep on this one, huh?
"Playing the slot is easy." Super hot take.
It's a skill set that plenty of DBs simply don't have. A team's #3 corner is not always their de facto nickel.
Because some don't have the right spatial awareness and ability to flow with the ball and/or their assignment in traffic. Some work better with the aid of the boundary and fewer bodies around them.
(11-20-2019, 09:14 AM)rocdee Wrote: [ -> ]everyone on this board has been propping Hayden
isn't this his last year on his contract? If so, sign him up! 3-yr deal. Pay him top slot corner pay (whatever it is). Then draft Okudah or Fulton at corner, and then be set there for the foreseeable future
He has 2020 with us under contract as I mentioned in the post above yours.
did this guy say that slot corner isn't that hard to play??
(11-20-2019, 10:01 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]https://www.duvalpride.com/showthread.ph...ree+agency
Our resident Lions fan, D6 was nearly the only level headed poster in this Hayden thread at the time of the signing.
I love it when the old threads get dug up...
So many hot takes from our resident GMs (so many bad takes, wrong takes, knee jerk takes, trolly takes...)
Most of them from the usual suspects really.
Had to scan it to make sure I wasn't in there lol
We all need to realize we just don't know what we're talking about 91% of the time.
(11-20-2019, 10:59 AM)Kane Wrote: [ -> ] (11-20-2019, 10:01 AM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]https://www.duvalpride.com/showthread.ph...ree+agency
Our resident Lions fan, D6 was nearly the only level headed poster in this Hayden thread at the time of the signing.
I love it when the old threads get dug up...
So many hot takes from our resident GMs (so many bad takes, wrong takes, knee jerk takes, trolly takes...)
Most of them from the usual suspects really.
Had to scan it to make sure I wasn't in there lol
We all need to realize we just don't know what we're talking about 91% of the time.
That's what's fun...
We all believe our opinion to be fact.
Like that scene in Inside Out (i got kids, sue me) these facts and opinions keep getting mixed up! Yea, they're hard to tell apart.
Think he'll probably walk along with Herndon during free agency too next year. Bummer.
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(11-20-2019, 02:38 PM)Caldrac Wrote: [ -> ]Think he'll probably walk along with Herndon during free agency too next year. Bummer.
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Herndon is under contract in next year (2020) and will be easy to retain after that as he's a restricted free agent.
Hayden is also under contract in 2020. He will be unrestricted of course as a tenured, highly drafted vet.
(11-20-2019, 03:34 PM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ] (11-20-2019, 02:38 PM)Caldrac Wrote: [ -> ]Think he'll probably walk along with Herndon during free agency too next year. Bummer.
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Herndon is under contract in next year (2020) and will be easy to retain after that as he's a restricted free agent.
Hayden is also under contract in 2020. He will be unrestricted of course as a tenured, highly drafted vet.
That's weird. Could have swore a commentator said they were both free agents in the last game.
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(11-20-2019, 03:42 PM)Caldrac Wrote: [ -> ] (11-20-2019, 03:34 PM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ]Herndon is under contract in next year (2020) and will be easy to retain after that as he's a restricted free agent.
Hayden is also under contract in 2020. He will be unrestricted of course as a tenured, highly drafted vet.
That's weird. Could have swore a commentator said they were both free agents in the last game.
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Commentators get stuff wrong all the time
Remember our QB Jerrard?
Anywho... Herndon won't be a big miss (especially if we draft a 1st round CB this year) and after 2020 we may have a better cap situation to keep Hayden.
That's a ways out still though
At the time, we still over paid for DJ considering the production he had shown in the NFL to that point. There really is zero argument to that, and I still stand by that. You pay for what a guy has done up to that point not what you think he can do. Anyways... since he’s been here he definitely has been a bright spot and has played very well. Solid player in this scheme.
(11-20-2019, 04:48 PM)The_Franchise_QB Wrote: [ -> ]At the time, we still over paid for DJ considering the production he had shown in the NFL to that point. There really is zero argument to that, and I still stand by that. You pay for what a guy has done up to that point not what you think he can do. Anyways... since he’s been here he definitely has been a bright spot and has played very well. Solid player in this scheme.
Just to be clear, are you also sticking by "such a trash move" and "he won't make the team?"
Or just that we paid a little too much?
(11-20-2019, 04:55 PM)NYC4jags Wrote: [ -> ] (11-20-2019, 04:48 PM)The_Franchise_QB Wrote: [ -> ]At the time, we still over paid for DJ considering the production he had shown in the NFL to that point. There really is zero argument to that, and I still stand by that. You pay for what a guy has done up to that point not what you think he can do. Anyways... since he’s been here he definitely has been a bright spot and has played very well. Solid player in this scheme.
Just to be clear, are you also sticking by "such a trash move" and "he won't make the team?"
Or just that we paid a little too much?
.gif "Laughing")