Buffalo Bills: Predicting the Safety depth chart entering training camp
By Aaron Tully
Buffalo Bills Starting Safeties
Free Safety: Micah Hyde
Micah Hyde was signed as a free agent in 2017 and has been a key piece on defense for the Buffalo Bills ever since. In Hyde’s four seasons in Buffalo, he has intercepted nine passes, defended 25, and made 204 combined tackles.
Hyde was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2017, and a case can be made that he should have more than just one selection in the last four years. Hyde signed a two-year extension in March, keeping him with the Bills through 2023. Hyde has been a part of one of the league’s best secondaries since 2017, and his presence and impact at the free safety spot will likely continue through the next few years.
Strong Safety: Jordan Poyer
Jordan Poyer is the other half of one of the NFL’s best safety tandems. Like Hyde, Poyer was also signed as a free agent in 2017 after a disappointing first five years in the league. Poyer’s career took off once he arrived in Buffalo.
In his four years with the Bills, Poyer has intercepted 13 passes, defended 27, forced seven fumbles, and made 426 combined tackles. Poyer has not made fewer than 95 combined tackles in any of his four seasons with the Bills, including three 100+ tackle seasons in a row from 2018-2020.
Despite his efforts, Poyer has yet to make a Pro Bowl. Poyer’s numbers in all four of his seasons with Buffalo suggest that he should be a four-time Pro Bowler; instead, he has been left out of all four Pro Bowls since arriving in Buffalo.
Poyer received a two-year contract extension in March of 2020, keeping him with the Bills through 2022. Poyer will be manning the strong safety spot for the Bills in 2021 barring any injuries; maybe this will be the year he finally gets his Pro Bowl nod.