Josh Hayes on his tough first start for Bucs: ‘I got my feet wet’

TAMPA — On the eighth play of Monday night's game at Kansas City, cornerback Josh Hayes dropped into zone coverage. He was supposed to have the outside third of the field but turned receiver Xavier Worthy loose.

Fortunately for the Bucs, the Chiefs rookie caught the football at the 1-yard line with his right foot out of bounds, denying him a touchdown reception from Patrick Mahomes.

But most of the missteps in the game belonged to Hayes, Tampa Bay's second-year pro who was making his first NFL start in place of injured cornerback Jamel Dean.

The Chiefs attacked him with DeAndre Hopkins, who had eight catches for 86 yards on nine targets and two touchdowns. Those passes from Mahomes didn't just find their target, they tore a hole in the fabric of Hayes' confidence.

"I think really what I learned from it is even in those big moments, it comes back down to those little things," Hayes said. "The details. The things we worked on in (organized team activities) and training camp. You know what I mean? Just technique and being fundamentally sound. ... I had to learn in that moment, you can't let that moment dictate how you show up.

"You have to come out with the same technique that you used in practice ... it's making sure that carries over instead of letting that moment kind of speed up."

Hayes finished with six tackles, one pass defensed and a fumble recovery. Until Dean returns from a hamstring injury after the bye week, Hayes will have to find a way to play better, starting Sunday against the 49ers.

The fact is that Hayes is not the first Bucs cornerback whose first start went about as bad as it could go.

As a rookie in 2019, Dean had played fewer than a handful of snaps when he was pressed into starting a game at Seattle when Carlton Davis got hurt on the opening drive. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson threw five touchdown passes that day, and Dean gave up three of them in a 40-34 overtime loss.

"It was probably the worst I've ever played," Dean said after the game. "It's probably my worst performance playing corner. But I guess it was my welcome to the NFL type of game for me."

Even more notable was the only game Ronde Barber was active for as a rookie in 1997. Cardinals receiver Rob Moore caught eight passes for 147 yards and a touchdown, most of them coming against Barber.

Barber wouldn't play again until the Bucs' division playoff loss at Green Bay. Twenty-six years later, Barber was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hayes in a long way from Canton, Ohio, but the point is the same. A short memory is the best skill a defensive back can display.

"The thing is that in his mind right now, the only thing he's focusing on is, 'I've got to play better. I've got to get all these thoughts and these memories out of my head,' " cornerback Zyon McCollum said of Hayes. "And I think if you focus on the negatives a little too much, it pushes you towards that.

"I've just been telling him, 'Don't worry about that. The only thing that can make you better is if you're focusing on how you can make yourself more comfortable.' We're watching film, me and him, and the things I tell him is, 'When you're watching film, you're looking at things you will not be covering.' I'm trying to understand what I don't need to worry about. Because if you're out there and your eyes are everywhere, and your feet stop? It's tough."

It won't get easier. The 49ers are loaded on offense and could have running back Christian McCaffrey return to the lineup Sunday. In two games against the Bucs, quarterback Brock Purdy has thrown for 518 yards and five touchdowns with a passer rating of 149.8.

Coverage is one thing. Hayes was probably more disappointed in his tackling Monday night.

"One hundred percent. And that part was finishing," Hayes said. "You've got to finish instead of thinking every tackle is supposed to be a kill shot. I'm not trying to just totally take dudes out. Sometimes you've just got to get them on the ground and go to the next down."

To the Bucs, he remains a better option than Tyrek Funderburk.

A sixth-round pick out of Kansas State, Hayes attended nearby Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland and is the nephew of former Bucs linebacker Geno Hayes.

Bucs co-defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers said Hayes should be better on Sunday.

"For any young player, it's the first time, the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday Night Football? You're going into the fire," he said. "The deep end of the fire. Just keep playing, trust your technique, you're here for a reason and just keep playing."

How much better will Hayes be Sunday?

"I think a lot better," he sad. "I got my feet wet. So now it's just let's just calm it down and play football."

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