Tennessee Titans: Another stat proves Kevin Byard is best safety in NFL

There is another stat out there that proves Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard is the best at his position in the NFL.

Despite getting no recognition from many in the media and even plays in the NFL, Tennessee Titans safety Kevin Byard once again finds himself at the top of a list that shows he’s the best in the business at his position.

NFL Next Gen Stats showed a graphic on Twitter breaking down the best defensive backs in the league based on Ball Hawk Rate, which is defined as “the percentage of targets as nearest defender with a pass defensed or intercepted”.

Now, if you know how good of a ball hawk Byard is, it should come as no surprise that the Titans safety is at the top of the list in this metric since 2017.

Part of the reason Byard is such a great ball hawk is his high intelligence as a football player. We saw that in full display during the Week 1 game against the Cleveland Browns when he tricked Baker Mayfield into throwing the ball right into his hands.

Byard leads the NFL in interceptions since 2017, and was named as an All-Pro in just his second season. He’s also a great leader for the Titans and doesn’t get caught up in nonsense — he just does his job.

With all the stats to back it up, it’s incredible to think how often Byard gets snubbed from recognition as one of the best defensive players in the league today.

Byard didn’t make both the NFL Top 100 Players of 2019 and ESPN’s list predicting the top 100 players, with the former being compiled based on votes from the players themselves. You’d think at least Byard’s contemporaries would understand just how good he is.

These are the reasons why the Titans signed him to the richest safety contract in NFL history prior to the start of the 2019 season. He’s just that damn good.