Bucs CB Josh Hayes is ready for his opportunity at MNF

Bucs head coach and defensive game manager Todd Bowles is known for being notoriously slow when it comes to making necessary personnel moves, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. But even Bowles had seen enough when he substituted rookie cornerback Tyrek Funderburk for Josh Hayes at halftime of last week’s 31-26 loss to the Falcons.

Funderburk, an undrafted free agent out of Appalachian State, allowed four catches on five targets for 85 yards and a touchdown to Darnell Mooney before being benched. Although Bowles hasn’t named a starter opposite Zyon McCollum for Monday night’s game in Kansas City, Hayes has taken more reps at cornerback in practice and could get his first NFL start against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.

“I think it will be one of those cool moments when I look back on my professional career and say this is where I got my first professional representation,” Hayes said. “I’m definitely looking forward to it. He’s still playing, but Patrick Mahomes is already one of the greatest – a legend in the making. I think it will be a cool experience.”

Hayes, a sixth-round pick last year, has made a name for himself as the team’s leading shooter in punt coverage and has played just 33 snaps on defense this season. All of these plays occurred in the second half of last week’s game against the Falcons.

It’s an incredibly small sample size, but according to Pro Football Focus, Hayes is currently the second highest graded Bucs defenseman behind McCollum (84.4) and ahead of Tykee Smith (74.4) with a grade of 75.3. Hayes’ coverage grade is 72.4, just behind McCollum (85.7), inside linebacker SirVocea Dennis (74.3) and cornerback Jamel Dean (73.6).

The Bucs hope Hayes can play as well as he did against the Chiefs against the Falcons as he allowed just one catch for eight yards last week and also made five tackles.

Josh Hayes has adjusted well to moving outside cornerback

Bucs CB Josh Hayes – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

The Bucs drafted Josh Hayes to play as a nickelback in 2023. He was drafted out of Kansas State, where he was a nickel cornerback and safety in his only season with the Wildcats. But Hayes lost out to Christian Izien, who started 19 games at nickelback last year as an undrafted free agent out of Rutgers.

Behind the scenes, the Bucs were training Hayes to play outside cornerback, where he began his career at North Dakota State playing with guard Cody Mauch.

“I feel like I went back to my college days (at North Dakota State) a little bit,” Hayes said. “It’s a position that I’ve really become familiar with. Coming out of college where I was a free safety and nickel and being able to come back to corner is huge. It feels comfortable.”

At 6-foot-1, 197 pounds, Hayes is big enough to play outdoors and has had success at the position in practice. So much so that he beat out Keenan Isaac for a spot at cornerback the last two seasons.

Bucs starter Zyon McCollum has seen Hayes’ development behind the scenes as an outside cornerback.

“I think he’s finally starting to understand how to play corner in the NFL,” McCollum said. “He just relied on pure athleticism and raw technique. He plays hard. That’s one thing I love about him. I remember him at North Dakota State and he plays hard. You can’t coach that.

Bucs CB Josh Hayes – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“Now he’s taking a step back and understanding the big picture of what we’re trying to accomplish. The more he was able to step back and look at it from a bird’s eye view, the more it helped him. That’s what I was like my freshman year – just going out there with that pure athleticism.”

As a cornerback, McCollum struggled on defense in his rookie season but thrived as the team’s best shooter. Hayes took on that role as a rookie last year when McCollum was used as a cornerback for the injured Jamel Dean and Carlton Davis III.

“It taught me how to make plays,” McCollum said. “When I finally made my first big tackle as a shooter, I knew I was good enough to be in the NFL and that my athleticism was good enough. I made tackles. I have achieved great success in games.

“When I moved to the corner, I adopted the same mindset. It won’t look exactly the same, but you kind of know what it feels like. It looks different, but it feels the same. The feeling is the hardest to capture.”

“Josh Hayes hopes to go from shooter to tackle Patrick Mahomes”

Bucs CB Josh Hayes – Photo by: USA Today

While Zyon McCollum had to learn both cornerback spots last year because injuries forced him to sub for left cornerback Carlton Davis III and right cornerback Jamel Dean, the opportunity to find a home on the left side has helped him hone his skills to improve technology. The same goes for Josh Hayes, who has practiced primarily at right cornerback this offseason and throughout the year.

Now that he’s filling in for Dean and potentially replacing Tyrek Funderburk at right cornerback against Kansas City, Hayes has a better idea of ​​what to expect.

“It’s everything, especially for a young man coming in here,” McCollum said. “He had to learn both corners last year and be an emergency nickel. But now he is definitely on the right side. This is the focus and allows you to open your hips in one direction. He keeps breaking off his outside foot. Things like that allow him to clear his head and just focus on the scheme rather than using all these different techniques.”

Hayes said the consistent amount of reps as a right cornerback has particularly helped him with his field vision.

“I think it definitely helps, maybe not as much as with technique, but more in terms of your vision as a corner and your perspective of how you’re going to see formations, sets and movements,” Hayes said.

While Mahomes is still the most talented quarterback in the game, he has thrown nine interceptions this year, tied with Baker Mayfield for second-most in the league behind Green Bay’s Jordan Love, who has thrown ten. If the Bucs are nine point underdogs against the Chiefs and are going to pull off an upset in Kansas City, they will probably have to win the turnover battle.

Hayes would like to help his team by recording his first NFL interception against Mahomes on Monday Night Football.

“I’ll take a pick against anyone, but it would be cool against him,” Hayes said. “But it’s less about maybe getting my first pick over Patrick Mahomes and more about doing my job first. I will do my job first and if I have the chance to make a pick, I will try to make the most of that opportunity and make a play. Just play it piece by piece.”

“Last week was cool, it was definitely an experience (playing against the Falcons). It’s about always being ready and being able to take advantage of an opportunity.”