Micah Hyde selected as the most underappreciated on the Buffalo Bills

Over the years, Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer have been mentioned almost always in the same breath when talking about the Buffalo Bills safeties. They were one of the first moves made by Sean McDermott as head coach of the Buffalo Bills and helped set the foundation for what would become one of the best defenses in the NFL.

Over the years, both players have been consistent contributors and this tends to make them overlooked. This is not to say they are bad players but on the contrary, they have set the bar so high that their performance is almost taken for granted.

Micah Hyde was named as the Buffalo Bills’ most underappreciated player by NFL.com

This is why it wasn’t very surprising to see that Micah Hyde was named as the most underappreciated player on the Buffalo Bills by Cynthia Frelund at NFL.com. In fact, she wrote that last year it was Jordan Poyer who earned this honor and it is now Hyde’s turn.

"I went with Jordan Poyer last year, so it only seems right that the other half of the NFL’s most valuable safety tandem in 2021 earns the honor for the Bills this year. Since 2020, Hyde ranks fourth among all defensive backs in ballhawk rate (31.3%, min. 35 targets) in the regular season, per NGS, and second best (30.5%) when postseason stats are included. The one-time Pro Bowler’s Pro Football Focus numbers are similarly impressive; he was awarded a coverage grade of 88.3 last season, which was third-best among DBs with at least 200 such snaps."

Frelund wrote that she determined each player who qualified for this by looking at their win share and comparing it against their salary and giving players drafted later in the NFL Draft and who had fewer than two Pro Bowls more weight.

For Micah Hyde, he was a fifth round pick by the Green Bay Packers and has only made one Pro Bowl, which he did his first year with Buffalo. From 2018 to 2020, his numbers didn’t necessarily match that Pro Bowl season but this past year he had an excellent statistical season with five interceptions, 10 passes defended, and one forced fumble.

While Frelund highlights his contributions on defense, this past season they carried over to special teams as he stepped in as the team’s punt returner late in the season. He returned punts in the windy game against the Patriots and then later in the season in the regular season finale against the Jets and into the playoffs.

There is no question that Micah Hyde, along with Jordan Poyer, has been a big part of this defense’s success and both players have been underappreciated at times in their careers.