9. Micah Hyde, Buffalo Bills
It is no secret that the Buffalo Bills have a tremendous defense, and it probably comes as no surprise given the background of their head coach. But Sean McDermott – along with general manager Brandon Beane – has assembled a top-flight defensive unit that could be one of the best in the AFC.
From where I sit, it begins with the safety tandem of Jordan Poyer and Micah Hyde, already acknowledged as the best pair in the league in my opinion. Hyde in particular has raised his level of play the past few seasons. He does perhaps some of his best work down in the box helping stop the run, but he also has coverage skills that are necessary in today’s game. His awareness on this red zone interception of Tom Brady, coupled with his ability to read the QB, is without question elite:
This is just gorgeous form from Micah Hyde. Stays in his receiver’s shirt and reads Tom Brady’s eyes the entire time. Brady puts the ball exactly where Hyde wants it.
Puppeteering at its finest pic.twitter.com/EbL1roJK35
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) October 1, 2019
He and Poyer work so well in tandem, with their ability to confuse quarterbacks like Brady – along with wide receivers – with how they can take basic coverage concepts and make them look exotic to an offense. Erik Turner, who covers the Bills extremely well for Cover 1, has a audio breakdowns of this in action that you can watch here:
Another well-disguised coverage by the Bills pic.twitter.com/9lf6r0IjCp
— Erik Turner (@ErikJTurner) May 4, 2020
I expect to see more of plays like this from this tandem, and Hyde in particular, in 2020.