NFL · Biography
Marquis Hayes
Guard · No club · free agent · OU 2017-2021
Late bloomer from St. Louis who started 37 games on the Sooner line
Marquis Hayes was born in St. Louis and attended Pattonville High School in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Remarkably, he didn't play varsity football until his junior year, yet he became a four-star recruit and picked Oklahoma over Miami, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa State and Minnesota.
After a redshirt year and a reserve role in 2018, Hayes became a fixture on the Sooners' offensive line. He started all 13 games at left guard in 2019, all 11 at right guard in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, and all 13 back at left guard in 2021, when he earned second-team All-Big 12 honors.
The Arizona Cardinals selected Hayes in the seventh round (257th overall) of the 2022 NFL draft, and he spent 2022–2024 in Arizona. He had brief stops with the Washington Commanders and Green Bay Packers in 2024 before signing with the New York Jets in June 2025. The Jets waived him at final cuts on August 30, 2026, re-signed him to the practice squad, and released him on September 3.
As of October 8, 2026, Hayes is a free agent guard.