Maxwell Hairston has shown through three games that he has the chops to be a quality NFL cornerback.
But the Buffalo Bills’ first-round pick learned firsthand in their 30-13 loss to the Miami Dolphins that consistency matters on each play. Physical talent isn’t enough to overcome inconsistent technique and eye alignment every play.
With Christian Benford out with a groin injury, Hairston was frequently matched up with Dolphins star Jaylen Waddle. Waddle was targeted five times with Hairston in coverage, catching three passes for 69 yards and a touchdown.
Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was also intercepted twice looking for Waddle with Hairston as the nearest defender. And Hairston showed promise at times and that there’s a learning curve on the others.
“Very impressed,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “It doesn’t mean that there’s not been some hiccups there. That’s natural. … There’s a certain level of experience that comes with Game 8 versus Game 3. So it’s all part of it.”
Hairston showed his athleticism and speed on the first interception, which came on the game’s first drive. Not only did Waddle get on Hairston a little faster than anticipated, but Hairston was baited into thinking Waddle was going to keep pushing upfield to the outside.
Waddle fought off a jam from Cam Lewis early in the route and Hairston began to break from his back pedal after Waddle got 10 yards downfield. But instead of continuing up field, Waddle cut inside on a skinny post.
Hairston had to make a baseball turn to flip his hips in the opposite direction and he did so without losing Waddle in coverage. With Hairston running stride for stride with Waddle, safety Cole Bishop was able to come over the top and snatch the ball.
But in the second quarter, Hairston got caught looking in the backfield. He didn’t take a step forward, but Tagovailoa’s play-action fake made Hairston pause long enough for Waddle to get to Hairston before breaking his back pedal. And this time, Waddle took his route up the sideline.
Not only did Waddle catch a 38-yard touchdown pass, but Hairston wasn’t even in position for his pass interference penalty to knock the ball away in the end zone.
Bishop also got caught out of position. Because the Dolphins had two running backs, a tight end and a sixth offensive lineman, only Waddle and tight end Greg Dulcich ran patterns past the line of scrimmage. Bishop, who was playing centerfield 17 yards off the ball, not only bit on the run fake, but he thought Dulcich was running a post across his face, only for the tight end to snap back the opposite way and Hairston didn’t have help overtop with safety Jordan Poyer in the box.
The Dolphins had averaged 4.8 yards per carry on 10 attempts at that point — with five runs over 5 yards — so it’s understandable why both players were cognizant of the run. But the Bills had eight players in the box and Waddle was Hairston’s responsibility, meaning he must learn to simply play the call every snap.
Hairston was able to rebound later in the game. He didn’t allow Waddle to get on top of him too quickly, flipped his hips in the right direction after Waddle was barely a yard past the line of scrimmage and used an armbar to fight Waddle off downfield, getting into position to record an interception for the second consecutive game.
“That’s not the last touchdown Max Hairston gives up,” Bills defensive coordinator Bobby Babich said. “It’s not going to be the last catch he gives up. Playing corner in this league is a challenge. There’s really good receivers. But it was awesome to see him respond again. … Max’s going to be a good player. … Failure is the best teacher you can have.”