On December 21, 2016, it was announced that Hairston had accepted his invitation to play in the 2017 East-West Shrine Game. He impressed draft scouts and analysts during Shrine Game practices. On January 21, 2017, Hairston recorded three combined tackles as part of the East team that lost 10–3 to the West in the 2017East-West Shrine Game. Hairston attended the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis and completed the majority of combine and positional drills. On March 8, 2017, Hairston participated at Temple's pro day, but stood on the majority of his combine numbers and only performed the three-cone drill, short shuttle, and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Hairston was projected to be drafted anywhere from the fifth to seventh rounds by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 30th best cornerback prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.
Indianapolis Colts
2017
The Indianapolis Colts selected Hairston in the fifth round of the 2017 NFL Draft. Hairston was the 23rd cornerback drafted in 2017. On May 11, 2017, the Indianapolis Colts signed Hairston to a four-year, $2.66 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $267,758. Hairston entered training camp as a backup cornerback and special teams player and was slated to be a developmental project. Head coach Chuck Pagano named Hairston the fourth cornerback on the Colts' depth chart to begin the regular season in 2017. He was listed on the depth chart behind Vontae Davis, Rashaan Melvin, and Quincy Wilson. He made his professional regular season debut in the Indianapolis Colts' season-opener at the Los Angeles Rams and made one solo tackle in their 46–9 loss. The following week, Hairston made his first career start as a nickelback after Vontae Davis was ruled inactive due to a groin injury. He recorded four solo tackles and made his first career sack on Cardinals' quarterback Carson Palmer in their 16–13 overtime loss to the 2017 Arizona Cardinals. On October 1, 2017, Hairston collected a season-high six combined tackles and forced a safety for the first scoring play of his career during a 46–18 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in Week 4. Hairston sacked Seahawks' quarterback Russell Wilson for a six-yard loss in the first quarter in the endzone for his first career safety. Hairston was inactive for the Colts' Week 5 win against the San Francisco 49ers due to a quadriceps injury. On November 26, 2017, Hairston recorded five combined tackles, made a season-high two pass deflections, and also made his first career interception in the Colts' 20–16 loss against the Tennessee Titans in Week 12. He made his first career interception off a pass by Titans' quarterback Marcus Mariota, that was originally intended for wide receiverTaywan Taylor, and returned it for a ten-yard gain in the second quarter. Hairston was inactive for the Colts' Week 15 loss to the Denver Broncos after suffering a concussion the previous week. He finished his rookie season in 2017 with 36 combined tackles, five pass deflections, two sacks, one interception, and a safety in 14 games and four starts.
On August 28, 2019, Hairston was traded to the New York Jets for a 2020 sixth round pick. In week 14 against the Miami Dolphins, Hairston recorded his first interception of the season off a pass thrown by Ryan Fitzpatrick in the 22–21 win.
