Kevin Byard

Kevin Byard
refer to caption
Byard with the Tennessee Titans in 2018
No. 31 – Tennessee Titans
Position: Safety
Personal information
Born: (1993-08-17) August 17, 1993
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight: 212 lb (96 kg)
Career information
High school: Martin Luther King Jr.
(Lithonia, Georgia)
College: Middle Tennessee
NFL Draft: 2016 / Round: 3 / Pick: 64
Career history
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2018
Total tackles: 174
Sacks: 1.0
Pass deflections: 21
Interceptions: 8
Forced fumbles: 0
Fumble recoveries: 2
Player stats at NFL.com

Kevin Leon Byard Jr.[1] (born August 17, 1993) is an American football safety for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Middle Tennessee.[2] Byard was drafted by the Titans in the third round of the 2016 Draft. In 2017, his second season in the NFL, he was selected to the Pro-Bowl and the First Team All-Pro, and was the co-leader for most interceptions throughout the season.

Early life

Byard was born on August 17, 1993, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After his parents divorced when he was 14, Byard moved to Atlanta with his mom, older brother, 2 younger brothers, and 3 younger sisters.[3] He attended Martin Luther King, Jr. High School in Lithonia, Georgia. In high school, he participated in football and track.[4]

College career

Byard played for the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University from 2012 to 2015.[5] He was redshirted in 2011. He earned Honorable Mention All-Conference USA honors in 2013. He was named First Team All-Conference USA in 2014 and 2015. Byard's 19 career interceptions are the most in school history.[6] Byard graduated from Middle Tennessee in May 2015 with a degree in liberal studies.[7]

Professional career

On November 22, 2015, Byard announced on Twitter that he had accepted his invitation to play in the 2016 Senior Bowl.[8] He was impressive during the week of practices leading up to the Senior Bowl, as he displayed his ball-hawking and athletic ability. Byard met with representatives from the Atlanta Falcons during the week.[9] Byard was not one of the 60 defensive backs invited to the NFL combine. On March 31, 2016, he participated at Middle Tennessee's pro day, along with 18 other teammates. He surprised many scouts and analysts with a 4.46 and 4.50 in the 40-yard dash as many scouting reports listed speed as one of his weaknesses. Team representatives and scouts from 24 NFL teams were in attendance with Byard as the top prospect performing. He met with representatives from the Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans during his pro day.[10][11] Byard had official private visits or workouts with 12 teams that included the Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Titans, and Los Angeles Rams.[12] At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Byard received many mixed draft projections from draft experts and scouts, with some (NFLDraftScout.com) projecting him to be a third or fourth round pick to others (NFL.com) projecting him to be drafted in the sixth or seventh round. He was ranked the fifth best strong safety prospect in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.[13]

Pre-draft measurables
Ht Wt Arm length Hand size 40-yard dash 10-yd split 20-yd split 20-ss 3-cone Vert jump Broad
5 ft 11 1⁄4 in
(1.81 m)		 212 lb
(96 kg)		 33 1⁄2 in
(0.85 m)		 9 7⁄8 in
(0.25 m)		 4.46 s 1.61 s 2.64 s 4.15 s 6.73 s 38 in
(0.97 m)		 9 ft 0 in
(2.74 m)
All values from Middle Tennessee State's Pro Day[14][15]

2016

Byard was drafted by the Tennessee Titans with the first pick in the third round (64th overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft.[16][17] Byard was the 24th player ever drafted from Middle Tennessee State and the highest player drafted from there since Tyrone Calico (second round, 60th overall), who was also selected by the Titans, in the 2003 NFL Draft.[18] Byard was the fifth safety selected in the 2016 NFL draft.

External video
Titans select Byard 64th overall

On July 18, 2016 the Tennessee Titans signed Byard to a four-year, $3.63 million contract with a signing bonus of $897,060.[19]

Throughout training camp, he competed with Rashad Johnson for the vacant starting free safety position left by the release of Michael Griffin.[20][21] Head coach Mike Mularkey named Johnson the starting free safety to start the regular season with Byard serving as his backup.[22]

He made his professional regular season debut in the Titans' season-opener against the Minnesota Vikings and collected five solo tackles in a 25–16 loss. On November 6, 2016, Byard recorded a season-high ten combined tackles in the Titans' 43–35 loss at the San Diego Chargers. His playing time increased after Johnson missed Weeks 8-9 after suffering a neck injury. On November 13, 2016, Byard received his first career start and recorded seven solo tackles and made his first career sack on Green Bay Packers' quarterback Aaron Rodgers during a 47–25 victory. Although Johnson returned from injury in Week 10, Byard remained the starting free safety for the last seven games of the season. He finished his rookie season with a total of 58 combined tackles (44 solo), one sack, and four pass deflections in seven starts and 16 games.[23] Byard played in 656 (60.1%) of the Titans' defensive snaps, leading all of their safeties. Pro Football Focus gave him a grade of 78.9, which ranked second among rookie safeties.[24]

2017

Byard entered training camp slated as the Titans' de facto free safety after they opted not to re-sign Rashad Johnson. As expected, he was named the starting free safety to begin the 2017 season.

He started the Titans' season-opener against the Oakland Raiders and recorded eight solo tackles in a 26–16 loss.[25] On October 1, 2017, he collected a season-high nine combined tackles and made his first career interception off of Deshaun Watson, as the Titans lost 57-14 to the Houston Texans.[25] On October 22, 2017, Byard recorded four combined tackles, three pass deflections, and had two interceptions off of Cleveland Browns' quarterback DeShone Kizer and one interception off of Cody Kessler during the Titans' 12–9 overtime win in Week 7.[26] His three-interception performance earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[27] The following week, Byard made four solo tackles, defended three passes, and intercepted Baltimore Ravens' quarterback Joe Flacco twice to help his team earn a 23–20 victory.[28] He became the fifth player in NFL history to record five interceptions in a two-game span joining DeAngelo Hall (2010), Albert Lewis (1985), Willie Buchanon (1978), and Mike Haynes (1976).[29] Byard received a grade of 89.9 from Pro Football Focus which was the third highest grade among safeties through the first twelve games, only behind Harrison Smith (94.2) and Adrian Amos (92.3).[30] In Week 13, he made a season-high nine combined tackles and deflected a pass during a 24–13 victory against the Houston Texans.[25] On December 31, 2017, Byard recorded six combined tackles, broke up two passes, and intercepted two passes by Blake Bortles in the Titans' 15–10 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars.[31] His performance earned him AFC Defensive Player of the Week.[32] He finished the 2017 season with 87 combined tackles (62 solo), 16 pass deflections, and eight interceptions in 16 games and 16 starts. His eight interceptions led the league and he was named first-team All-Pro.[33] Pro Football Focus gave Byard an overall grade of 89.0, ranking fourth among all qualified safeties in 2017.[34]

The Tennessee Titans finished second in the AFC South with a 9–7 record and received a wildcard berth. On January 6, 2018, Byard started in his first career playoff game and recorded five solo tackles during a 22–21 win at the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Wildcard Game.[25] The following week, Byard made ten combined tackles (nine solo) in the Titans' 35–14 loss at the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Round.[25] On January 21, 2018, Byard was selected to appear in the 2018 Pro Bowl as an injury replacement. It marked his first career Pro Bowl.[35] He was also ranked 80th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.[36]

2018

On September 16, 2018, Byard threw a touchdown to Dane Cruikshank on a fake punt in the Titans' 20-17 Week 2 victory against the Houston Texans.[37]

Career statistics

Regular season

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GGSCombTotalAstSackPDINTYdsAvgLngTDFFFR
2016TEN 1675844141.040000000
2017TEN 16168762250.016813016.233002
Career3223145106391.02081308.133002

Postseason

Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles
GGSCombTotalAstSackPDINTYdsAvgLngTDFFFR
2017TEN 22151410.000000000
Career22151410.000000000

Titans franchise records

  • First player in team history to record 5 interceptions in a 2-game span

References

  1. ↑ "Kevin Byard Titans Biography". TitansOnline.com.
  2. ↑ "Top NFL team fits for MTSU's Kevin Byard". Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Titans rookie Kevin Byard had to grow up fast".
  4. ↑ "Kevin Byard's high school teachers praise his work ethic". DNJ. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  5. ↑ "Kevin Byard College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  6. ↑ "Kevin Byard". goblueraiders.com. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Kevin Byard gives sound advice to local middle school campers". 24/7 Sports. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  8. ↑ Aldo Giovanni Amato (November 22, 2015). "Kevin Byard headed to Senior Bowl". hawkcentral.com. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  9. ↑ Orlando Ledbetter (January 27, 2016). "Middle Tennessee's Byard shining at Senior Bowl". myajc.com. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  10. ↑ Connor Grott (March 31, 2016). "MTSU 2016 Pro Day results: Byard steals spotlight". mstusidelines.com. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  11. ↑ Aldo Almato (March 31, 2016). "MTSU's Kevin Byard improves 40 time on pro day". dnj.com. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ Aldo Amato (April 22, 2016). "5 takeaways from MTSU safety Kevin Byard's NFL visits". Dnj.com. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Kevin Byard, DS #5 SS, Middle Tennessee State". nfldraftscout.com. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  14. ↑ "NFL Draft Profile: Kevin Byard". NFL.com. Retrieved November 25, 2017.
  15. ↑ http://www.draftscout.com/ratings/dsprofile.php?pyid=96628&draftyear=2016&genpos=ss
  16. ↑ Lambert, Terry A. (April 30, 2016). "NFL Draft Picks 2016: Titans Select Kevin Byard, S, MTSU". Music City Miracles. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  17. ↑ Wyatt, Jim (July 15, 2016). "Titans Agree to Terms with Third-Round Pick Kevin Byard". Tennessee Titans. Retrieved July 18, 2016.
  18. ↑ "FootballDB.com: Middle Tennessee State: NFL Draft history". footballdb.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Spotrac.com: Kevin Byard". spotrac.com.
  20. ↑ Michael Cotton (August 19, 2016). "Five Titans needing big game vs. Panthers". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  21. ↑ Cory Curtis (June 8, 2016). "Johnson, Byard both impressing at free safety for Titans". worn.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Titans release regular season depth chart". 247sports.com. September 3, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2018.
  23. ↑ "NFL Player stats: Kevin Byard-2016". NFL.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  24. ↑ Aaron Resnick (August 10, 2017). "Titans believe S Kevin Byard is destined for stardom". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  25. 1 2 3 4 5 "NFL Player stats: Kevin Byard (2017)". NFL.com. Retrieved April 16, 2018.
  26. ↑ "NFL Game Center: Week 7-2017: Tennessee Titans @ Cleveland Browns". NFL.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  27. ↑ Lam, Quang M. (October 25, 2017). "Carson Wentz, Amari Cooper among Players of Week". NFL.com.
  28. ↑ "NFL Player stats: Kevin Byard-2017". NFL.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Titans safety's 5 picks in consecutive games ties NFL mark". usatoday.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  30. ↑ Kyle Madson (November 29, 2017). "Kevin Byard is the AFC's top safety per Pro Football Focus". titanswire.usatoday.com. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Mr. INT: Titans S Kevin Byard Picks Off Two Passes in Win". December 31, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Rivers, Byard, Godwin among NFL Players of the Week". NFL.com. January 3, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Titans Safety Kevin Byard Named First Team All-Pro". TitansOnline.com. January 5, 2018.
  34. ↑ "Pro Football Focus: Kevin Byard". profootballfocus.com. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  35. ↑ "Titans FS Kevin Byard, ST Brynden Trawick Named to Pro Bowl". TitansOnline.com. January 21, 2018.
  36. ↑ "'Top 100 Players of 2018': Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard". NFL.com. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
  37. ↑ "Kevin Byard, Titans make most of opportunity on first-quarter fake punt for touchdown". The Tennessean. Retrieved 2018-10-03.
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