Oakland Raiders: Five Worst Draft Day Whiffs Of The Reggie McKenzie Era

1. D.J. Hayden

As if there could be any doubt about this one. Taken in the first round of the 2013 Draft (thirteenth overall), Hayden was supposed to be a long-term fix at Oakland’s perpetually leaky situation in the secondary.

Having gone through a plethora of options at the position – and none of them doing much of anything positive on the field – McKenzie took the speedy corner out of Houston. Much to the chagrin and dismay of people everywhere.

Taking him with that high of a pick was a huge reach to begin with. Hayden had a serious heart problem – one that, at one time, had even put a career in the NFL in some doubt. Given that injury, teams were running from Hayden and had McKenzie been patient, he very likely could have gotten Hayden in the late rounds. Possibly even as a UDFA after the Draft.

But no. McKenzie showed his inexperience as a GM by taking Hayden in the first round. As it’s turned out, McKenzie wasted the very first, first round pick of his GM career.

No, Hayden isn’t anywhere near as big of a bust as say – JaMarcus Russell was. But his departure from the team this offseason via free agency was certainly welcomed by cheers and offers to help pack his bags for him.

Hayden’s four-year tenure with the team can be summed up by two things – perpetual injuries and constant penalty flags. When Hayden wasn’t off the field battling one injury or another, he was on it drawing flags mostly for defensive holding and pass interference.

Hayden ended his Raiders tenure having appeared in only 45 games (out of a possible 64) and racking up a whopping three interceptions.

While not the biggest bust in franchise history, Hayden (so far) is the biggest bust of McKenzie’s tenure.