It should be no surprise that the Buffalo Bills have the best safety duo in the AFC East entering 2022. The combination of Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer has been excellent for this defense and they are playing some of the best football of their career.
The question though is who is the second-best duo in the AFC East and how soon could they surpass Poyer and Hyde? Let’s try and answer those questions by ranking each of the starting safety duos in the AFC East entering this season.
Ranking the best safety duos in the AFC East entering 2022
Jordan Whitehead, Lamarcus Joyner
The New York Jets lost their best safeties this offseason with Marcus Maye signing as a free agent with the New Orleans Saints. They did sign Jordan Whitehead to replace Maye and while he may not be the same caliber, he is still a good safety.
Whitehead has spent the past four seasons with the Bucs and was a starter for a majority of those four years. He has 292 career tackles, five interceptions, 25 passes defended, and is a well-rounded safety that will be a good fit in this secondary.
The question for the Jets is at the other spot which is expected to be Lamarcus Joyner. The former Rams safety signed with New York last season but suffered a season-ending elbow injury in the first game of the season.
He re-signed with the Jets this offseason on another one-year deal and while Joyner looks to be the favorite, he will face some competition from Ashytn Davis. He was a third round pick in 2020 by the Jets and certainly has the potential to be a starter in this league.
If Davis wins the job, it could be enough to move them up the rankings but for now, they are ranked fourth in the division.