After reshaping the secondary from 2016, it was clear that the Buffalo Bills found a captain like leader in Micah Hyde in free agency in 2017. Bills fans should still be thanking Ted Thompson and the Green Bay Packers for not offering an extension to Hyde. The Bills took the initiative to ink Hyde to a five-year deal, just as he is entering the prime of his career.
As a member of a brand new Bills secondary, it’s understandable that this unit was questioned on how it would perform. Face it, at one point the Bills secondary look to be very vulnerable at one point before Week 1. Hyde and the rest of the crew proved that they were the one unit on the defense that kept the Bills in games.
Hyde was tied for fifth in the league with five interceptions, along with ballhawk teammate Jordan Poyer. Not only was he intercepting passes, he also deflect 13 passes and came up with 65 tackles in 2017. With his work ethic and his consistent performance, Hyde was voted on to the NFL Top 100 list and debuted at #62, being one of the two Bills players on the list.
Hyde will have Poyer and Tre’Davious White back, and Vontae Davis is the newest member of this secondary. Hyde and Davis joining together is scary good, assuming they both stay healthy. The defense improved in the offseason and the secondary brought in yet another veteran to go with Hyde, making it seem like the secondary will dominate once again.
The bar is set higher for Hyde for his second season with the Bills and there should be no reason why he takes a step back.
2018 Season Projections:
75 tackles, 6 INT’s, 15 passes deflected.
Brandon Ray is a Managing Editor for Full Press Coverage and covers the NFL and the Buffalo Bills. Follow him on Twitter at @brandon_ray79 and @FPC_Bills for Bills coverage.
