Marcus Hayes brings playmaking heat, but the trail is old-school
Marcus Hayes is a former New Mexico safety whose calling card was big-play disruption: in the 2018 season, he earned Mountain West Defensive Player of the Week after a two-interception game and was praised by the Lobos as an excellent tackler; he also showed rare return value, leading the nation with a 21.2-yard punt-return average in his lone season as a returner. The catch: the available public profile is dated, so he’s more of a proven playmaker snapshot than a current-form evaluation—useful if you want toughness, instincts, and splash-play juice, but not a fresh 2026 production read.
