Signing Kevin Byard in free agency was the first notable move the Bears made in the offseason, though it often gets lost in the shuffle. It was, after all, an offseason of heavy lifting for Chicago’s front office (two new wide receivers, a new running back, a rookie quarterback, a new play caller, and a bunch of new faces throughout the offensive coaching staff).
That amount of action can make it easy to lose sight of a 31-year-old free-agent safety (set to play for his third team in two seasons). But I can’t allow him to get lost in the mix! Kevin Byard has played too well to not get a full appreciation post after his strong start to the 2024 season.
Kevin Byard has made a good first impression
It has taken all of six games for Kevin Byard to make his presence felt in Chicago. And that is saying something when you consider that he had a 91.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus since entering the league in 2016.
PFF, which listed Byard as the 12th-best safety coming into this season, has him as the NFL’s third-highest-graded safety through seven weeks. Only fellow NFC North safeties Brian Branch (Lions) and Xavier McKinney (Packers) have better grades than the 90.0 Byard is sporting this season. Byard’s 87.4 coverage grade is the fourth best at PFF, while his 78.0 run defense grade checks in at 14th. In other words, Byard is grading well across the board. This type of instant impact is exactly what I was hoping to see from Byard when the Bears signed him in free agency.
The traditional metrics look good for Byard, too. And I do not want to lose sight of that as we discuss his contributions to this defense.
Kevin Byard has limited opposing quarterbacks to a 71.9 passer rating when they target him and has an interception to his name this season. But Byard’s excellence goes beyond his superb coverage skills. For example, the Middle Tennessee State University product has 27 solo tackles, five defensive stops, and just one tackle this season. Missed tackles were a problem for Eddie Jackson, the safety Byard replaced who had been with the Bears since 2017. So to see that not pop up as a problem for Byard is refreshing.
“The guy that we’ll be looking for has got to have athletic ability, he’s gotta have range, he’s gotta have great communication skills, and he’s gotta have ball skills. … If it’s a free agent, he’s gonna have to feel the temperature of the room and dive into a leadership role.”
Not only does it sound like the Bears nailed it in terms of athletic ability, range, communication skills, and ball skills, but it also seems as if the team reeled in a locker room leader. Before the start of the season, Kevin Byard was voted as a captain by his teammates – an especially impressive feat for a new signee.
The Bears’ recent run of offensive success has us dreaming about what it could look like down the stretch once rookie quarterback Caleb Williams truly hits his stride in Offensive Coordinator Shane Waldron’s scheme. But Chicago’s defense is worthy of top billing, too. And while a revitalized defensive line is the main reason for the defense’s success, a secondary featuring Kevin Byard’s prowess shouldn’t be overlooked.
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