Vandy's Hayward doesn't lack for confidence

INDIANAPOLIS _ If confidence is a prerequisite for a cornerback, then Vanderbilt's Casey Hayward should be a high pick.

Hayward has been projected as a third or fourth-round pick by some draft prognosticators, but on Sunday he said he believes he is worthy of a first or second-round pick.

“I definitely think I'm one of the top corners in the draft. My production has shown it,” said Hayward, who intercepted 13 passes in his final two years with the Commodores. “I don't know what else you can rank them as. You can look at my production and see it's just as good or better than anybody in this draft.”

Hayward, who turned some heads with his play at the Senior Bowl last month, said mock drafts are not important to him.

“I've looked into a couple, but I definitely don't think I'm going to go where they say I'm going to go. It don't matter with mock drafts. You only need one team to like you. Hopefully, a team likes me high,” he said.

He did look at the mock draft former Vanderbilt and NFL defensive back Corey Chavous compiled, and liked what he saw there.

“He's got me pretty high, I think like second or so. I definitely see myself as a first or second-round guy,” Hayward said. “I definitely see myself in the top five corners here, regardless of who's here. I guess people want to see how fast I'm gonna run, and if I run well, I'm gonna jump above some people.”

TitanInsider247 and @terrymc13

Terry McCormick covers the Titans for TitanInsider.com

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