Kevin Byard

Byard served as the anchor of the Titans' secondary for the last six seasons, serving both as one of their most productive players as well as a leader of the team. After a somewhat tumultuous half-season with the Eagles, Byard signed a two-year deal with the Bears this offseason and will look to help the young defense take a step forward. He should return to his role as the center fielder of the defense and will form a formidable pairing with Jaquan Brisker on the back end of the secondary. Byard has topped 100 tackles in three of the last four seasons and has a history of causing turnovers. He should have at least a couple more years of elite production in the tank as he heads into his age-30 season.

Byard might be the most reliable defender in the league from a fantasy perspective. Since being drafted in the third round in 2016, he has yet to miss a game, and the last six seasons he's played more than 1,000 snaps every year while recording 84 to 111 tackles and snagging at least four interceptions five times. At some point that workload might catch up to him, but as yet there's been no signs that the foundation of the Titans' secondary is beginning to crack. As long as he's healthy, his role in Mike Vrabel's defense won't change.

Byard probably can’t match the tackle production of the top defensive back IDPs, but he’s no slouch in that regard and is otherwise one of the league’s best safeties. Last year, Byard logged his second five-interception season in three years, giving him 23 interceptions over his last five years. He also has 53 passes defended in the last five years.

Rank Byard higher than this in leagues that reward well for interceptions, just realize that his 111 tackles from last year — a career high by 21 — don't appear likely to repeat. The Titans defense fell apart and Byard had to clean up more messes than usual, but he normally plays more of a center-field role than a tackle machine up front. By the same token it must be noted that Byard normally does much more in coverage than he did last year — his one interception from 2020 is a stark outlier considering his 17 interceptions in the three prior seasons.

It'd normally be reckless to target a defensive back IDP who projects for fewer than 90 tackles, but Byard poses an exception, especially in leagues that award extra points for interceptions. He has 17 interceptions in his last 3,244 snaps, which is consistent with the production he showed at Middle Tennessee State, where he intercepted 19 passes in 49 games. As much as he's still vulnerable to regression, this seems to be who he is. He's probably due for a higher tackle rate than what he showed in 2019, when he averaged 0.0754 tackles per snap last year, as opposed to 0.0831 over the two years prior. It's a difference that would amount to about nine more tackles on last year's 1,114-snap workload.

In an era with many emerging standout safeties, Byard may be the unchallenged leader of them all when it comes to coverage ability. He's perhaps the most feared ballhawk in the league after picking off 12 passes the last two years. His tackle production could regress despite its initial modesty (177 in the last two years), but Byard is a rare case where the interception production appears bankable. It's the same thing he did in college at Middle Tennessee, where he intercepted an absurd 19 passes, including four returned for touchdowns.

No safety in the NFL pounces on the ball like Byard, whose eight interceptions and 16 passes defensed last year were forewarned by his superb college production at Middle Tennessee, where he snatched 19 interceptions in four years, returning four for touchdowns. His IDP utility isn't interception-dependent, however, as his 87 tackles from last year play in mainstream IDP scenarios, too. Eight interceptions a year is too much to ask, but Byard should rank at or near the top in the category most years going forward.

The 2016 third-rounder joins a deep group of safeties that includes presumed starters Da’Norris Searcy and Rashad Johnson, as well as Daimion Stafford, Marqueston Huff and Josh Aubrey. Byard’s 19 interceptions at Middle Tennessee State indicate that he possesses elite ball skills, but the Titans have the resources to bring him along slowly as he makes the adjustment from Conference USA to the NFL. While he’ll make the roster, expectations should be tempered for the rookie.