https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2014/03/05/free-agent-profile-jairus-byrd/
While Jairus Byrd might not have the kind of ‘pure’ range that I thought he had before I started watching the tape more closely, he does have the ‘practical’ range to mean it doesn’t really matter. You can’t ask Byrd to do exactly what Earl Thomas does, but you can ask him to play the same role in a close copy of that defense and expect him to excel.
Byrd doesn’t run a 4.3, and he can’t fly to the football like Earl Thomas can – because that’s a very rare ability – but Byrd excels at a variety of other skills that enables him to make up the difference in raw speed and play every bit as well as Thomas in a similar role.
If you’re looking to recreate the Seattle defense you’re going to need your version of a rangy free safety to play the deep middle. Jairus Byrd can’t run like the wind, but he is one of the few players that can handle that role and make that defense possible.
While Jairus Byrd might not have the kind of ‘pure’ range that I thought he had before I started watching the tape more closely, he does have the ‘practical’ range to mean it doesn’t really matter. You can’t ask Byrd to do exactly what Earl Thomas does, but you can ask him to play the same role in a close copy of that defense and expect him to excel.
Byrd doesn’t run a 4.3, and he can’t fly to the football like Earl Thomas can – because that’s a very rare ability – but Byrd excels at a variety of other skills that enables him to make up the difference in raw speed and play every bit as well as Thomas in a similar role.
If you’re looking to recreate the Seattle defense you’re going to need your version of a rangy free safety to play the deep middle. Jairus Byrd can’t run like the wind, but he is one of the few players that can handle that role and make that defense possible.