Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard is often overlooked as one of the best safeties in the game, but analytics show that shouldn’t be the case.
In terms of wins above replacement (WAR), Byard ranks fourth among all safeties in the NFL since 2017, according to Pro Football Focus.
After making the cut on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018 following a 2017 season in which he was a Pro Bowler and First-Team All-Pro, Byard has been snubbed in each of the past two seasons.
However, we have seen Byard getting some respect through other avenues.
Touchdown Wire’s Mark Schofield recently ranked Byard as a top-three safety, and he was No. 39 on the outlet’s top 101 players in the NFL today. CBS Sports’ Patrik Walker ranked Byard at No. 9 in his top-10 safeties list.
Adding to that, the former third-round pick earned the fourth-highest rating among safeties in the new Madden NFL 21 video game, coming in at a 91.
Clearly there are some out there who respect what Byard has accomplished, but there are far too many people still needing to catch up.
The Titans signed Byard to a five-year, $70.5 million contract extension prior to the 2019 season, and he followed that up with another stellar year. In 2020, Byard will once again be a key part of the Titans’ defense and the team will be looking for him to step up even more as a leader in the locker room.
