If the Buffalo Bills decide they want to make a change at the safety position, there isn’t a better player to add in this year’s class than Kyle Hamilton. Let’s take a closer look at the player and how he would fit on the Buffalo Bills’ defense.
Measurables/Stats
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 220 pounds
Arms: 33″
Hands: 9 1/8″
Kyle Hamilton has been a big part of the Notre Dame defense over the past three years and finished his college career with 138 total tackles, 7.5 tackles for a loss, eight interceptions, and 16 pass defended.
This past season, Hamilton had 34 total tackles, three interceptions and four passes defended in only seven games. He was limited to seven in his final season with the Fighting Irish due to a knee injury.
NFL.com Scouting Report by Lance Zierlein
"High-impact safety with unique blend of traits and characteristics that make him a bit of a unicorn at the position. Hamilton has the eyes and speed to play over the top, the strength and toughness to play near the line, and coverage length to guard elite pass-catching tight ends who often mismatch opposing defenses. It’s rare to find such a ferocious striker and intimidator who has the football intelligence and athletic prowess to go make plays in the passing game, but Hamilton provides it all. He thrives playing downhill or sinking into a robber alignment on the back-end but will have occasional missteps in coverage when in retreat from his pedal. Hamilton has the traits and football character to transition from standout college moments to a standout pro career as a future Pro Bowler with All-Pro potential."
How Kyle Hamilton fits with the Buffalo Bills
As Lance Zierlein wrote, Kyle Hamilton is not the type of player teams typically find at the safety position. He has an incredible combination of size and talent that makes him a great fit for really any defense.
The Bills do a good job of disguising the responsibilities of their safeties on any given play and the reason they can do this is both Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer have the skill set to play on the line but also drop back into coverage.
Kyle Hamilton brings this same skill set as he has the size to be a force at the line of scrimmage to support the run or line up in coverage on a tight end. He also has the speed to drop deep as a center fielder to defend the deep throw.
If the Buffalo Bills decided to split their safety duo this offseason, it would be a decision that can’t be taken lightly and would come with considerable risk. However, the potential that Kyle Hamilton has and the player he is may be enough for the front office to make such a move.