On whether he thought Hayden would be available at No. 12: "It was a tense feeling there in the draft room. We felt like there was a chance that he was still going to be there. The good thing is there were some other guys that we felt comfortable with, but D.J. was our guy that we identified very early on in the process; he was the guy we were really interested in at the third pick. We were fortunate that we were able to get him where we got him and pick up another pick."
On what he thought when watching Hayden's film: "I think the one quality that you look at when you look at corners is you're looking for guys that can cover, and this guy can cover. He can cover man-to-man, he's got great speed, he's got great quickness, and he has the ability to play both off and press coverage. One of the things that I really look at is how does a guy make plays on the ball, specifically on plays down the field, and he does a tremendous job of that."
On the current NFL player Hayden compares to: "I look at him as one of the top corners. I think he has a chance to be really good and a difference-maker for us, so when you look at the top corners in this league, in my mind, that's who I see him ending up being like."
On the importance of drafting a defensive player: "Obviously we have needs throughout the team that we want to try to make sure we take care of. I think it was a great thing that we were able to get an impact player at a position. Specifically, defensively, what you look for is how do you affect the quarterback, and you do that through rush or coverage. And this guy, we felt like, was the top cover corner in the draft."
On how much time he spent with Hayden during his visit: "A pretty good portion of the day when he was here. He spent a lot of time with myself. He spent a lot of time with the assistant coaches. We got a chance to meet with him and talk with him and see how much information he could retain and how much volume of information he could take in. The guy's all football; he loves football. He's going to be a guy that – obviously you've seen from what he's been through – that he's willing to work. Those are all things that…a lot of people talk about character, and this guy has the type of character that we're looking for."
