Bleacher Report named Jordan Poyer as the one player who can swing the AFC East race this upcoming season.
The AFC East race appears to be wide open entering this upcoming season, especially with the departure of Tom Brady from the New England Patriots to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If the Buffalo Bills are going to win the division for the first time in 25 years, Jordan Poyer could be the deciding factor.
Brent Sobleski of Bleacher Report recently identified one underrated player within each division that could swing the division races. In the AFC East, it was the Bills safety who was picked:
"The Bills easily feature the league’s most underrated safety tandem, though Micah Hyde made the Pro Bowl in 2017. His running mate, Jordan Poyer, has received little to no recognition despite being one of the most well-rounded players at his position.Since joining the Bills during the 2017 campaign, Poyer has amassed 302 total tackles, including a career-high 107 last season, 22 defended passes and 11 interceptions. He set another career high last season with three forced fumbles.Basically, Hyde and Poyer are interchangeable pieces who can line up in the box, play deep in coverage, cover the slot and even rush the passer on occasion. This type of flexibility will create confusion for young quarterbacks who aren’t yet certain of what they’re seeing pre- and post-snap. As such, Poyer, who has played in 47 of the 48 possible regular-season games with the Bills over the last three years, will help create the type of impact to potentially place the Bills atop the AFC East."
When the Buffalo Bills signed Jordan Poyer, who was one of Sean McDermott’s first free agent signings, he was largely unknown. He was drafted in the seventh round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Philadelphia Eagles but was waived and then claimed by the Cleveland Browns.
In the first four years in the league, Poyer started only 10 games, all with the Browns, and had 103 combined tackles over that stretch. However, since joining the Bills in 2017 he has been the team’s starting safety, alongside Micah Hyde, and these two have become one of the better safety duos in the league.
While he has yet to earn any Pro Bowl or All-Pro selections, he has been a pivotal piece in a Bills secondary that has ranked in the Top 5 against the pass the last two seasons. The Bills front office recognized his importance and extended him this offseason.
It is interesting that Poyer was selected as the underrated player that can impact AFC East race as a case could be made that he isn’t even one of the top players on the Bills that will have the greatest impact on their success. While all eyes will be on Josh Allen and his development, the players, like Devin Singletary, Stefon Diggs or the offensive line could be considered more important.