Tennessee Titans: Kevin Byard was all-time good in 2017
Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard had a breakout season in 2017, but just how good was he? Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu good.
The Tennessee Titans made a significant leap during the 2017 NFL regular season. Tennessee returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2008, securing a monumental victory over the Kansas City Chiefs before bowing out against the New England Patriots in the divisional round.
It was a wonderful bounce-back season from almost everyone involved, but the star of the show was a safety who had an all-time season: Kevin Byard.
Byard became a headline when he questioned Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders calling Tyrann Mathieu the best safety in the NFL. It was a surprising exchange, as Sanders referred to Byard as, “A fan.”
Whether or not Sanders knew who Byard was, the now laughed about encounter featured one individual overlooking a critical truth.
In 2017, Byard produced a season that put him in the same conversation as Troy Polamalu and Ed Reed.
Kevin Byard did something in 2017 that only Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu have done since 2006. 15 or more pass breakups and interceptions in a single season. pic.twitter.com/x8Nz6pBUX5
— PFF (@PFF) May 22, 2018
It’s safe to say that Byard deserves more recognition than being referred to as a, “Fan,” in the discussion about the best safeties in the NFL.
Byard, 24, tied for the NFL lead with eight interceptions during the 2017 regular season. He added seven passes broken up and 16 passes defended, which has placed him in the same conversation as Polamalu and Reed.
Whether or not you believe he’s of that same caliber, this specific statistic proves that he was as much of a ball hawk as the two greatest safeties of their era during the 2017 campaign.
That truth was rewarded when Byard was named first-team All-Pro by the Associated Press and the Pro Football Writers of America.
Pro Football Focus graded Byard as the No. 4 safety in the NFL, but two of the players ahead of him played 756 or fewer snaps. Byard, meanwhile, was on the field for an absurd 1,223 snaps in 2017—tied with Devin McCourty of the New England Patriots for the most among safeties.
With all-time ball-hawking numbers working in his favor, the next step for Byard will be proving that he can thrive under the burden of expectations in 2018.
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If the 2017 season is a sign of things to come, Kevin Byard and the Tennessee Titans will be one of the most dynamic defensive teams in the NFL come 2018.