This comes from a friend of mine who has intimate knowledge regarding this situation. The Redskins salivating over Casey Hayward shouldn't come as a major surprise to anyone, though. The star corner back was on the Shanahans' Senior Bowl roster, which gave the Redskins a very up close look.

Hayward is labeled as a 'ball hawk,' and his stats back that up. It should also be noted that the Redskins value college players who were team captains and force turnovers, both of which Hayward receives check marks for. The draft scout profiles have Hayward labeled as a third round pick. I asked Dan Kadar, of Mocking the Draft, if that still holds true, and he replied "Yes, especially because of the depth at the position." WalterFootball.com has Hayward ranked as the 10th best CB in the draft.

Here are some notes on Hayward, who's combine measurements were 5'10, 185 lbs, 4.57 40':

• Second Team All-America DB by Walter Camp Foundation, Rivals.com & Yahoo! Sports
  
• Two-Time All-Southeastern Conference Defensive Back
• SemiFinalist for Jim Thorpe Award As Senior
• Team Co-Record Holder in Career Interceptions (15)
• 2011: 13 games, 7 INTs, 60 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, 10 passes broken up

Casey Hayward: Being voted a captain my Senior year. It's an honor I always wanted to have, and being picked by my fellow teammates was an honor.

You seem to be a guy who, for whatever reason, has always gone under the radar. Why do you think that is, and does it give you a little extra juice to prove people wrong?

Casey Hayward: I think because of the school I went to. If I went to a big name school, and put up the same numbers, I would have been one of the top corners hands down. I still see myself as one of the top cornerbacks in this class, and somebody will recognize it. It definitely gives me extra juice to keep proving people wrong!

Raheem Morris was at Hayward's Pro Day and speaking very high of him.

Career Defensive Stats via NBC Sports: