Sean Desai breaks down how Kevin Byard will fit in after trade

Sean Desai breaks down how Kevin Byard will fit in after trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Eagles made a huge move on Monday afternoon, trading for two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard.

On Tuesday, defensive coordinator Sean Desai broke down what the Eagles are getting in the eight-year pro.

“He is obviously a great veteran,” Desai said. “He's had a lot of success in this league. Has played in a lot of different defenses. Really smart. Great leader. I've gotten great reports. It's really exciting to get him into the room and get him going.”

The Eagles gave up a couple of Day 3 picks in 2024 as well as safety Terrell Edmunds in the deal for Byard. It’s a move that addressed the Eagles’ most glaring position of need and at a reasonable return. They entered the season with some concern at safety and had to play the Dolphins on Sunday night without their two starters from the opener.

We’ll see how long it takes to get Byard up to speed but the Eagles have had plenty of experience with moving parts in their secondary this season.

“Pretty similar to the process we've had these last few weeks of getting different guys ready to play in the back end,” Desai said. “The great thing is he has a lot of wealth of experience that he can rely on, so we anticipate it being pretty smooth.”

Byard hasn’t missed a game in his NFL career and has 27 interceptions since the start of the 2017 season; that’s the second-highest total in the league behind just cornerback Xavien Howard, who has 29.

Of course, we should point out that Byard turned 30 in August and his two All-Pro seasons came in 2017 and 2021 but he’s still playing at a high level.

“I still think he is a really good safety,” Desai said. “And he will be a really good addition for us.”

Desai said part of that process to get Byard up to speed will be extra meetings with DBs coach D.K. McDonald, assistant DBs coach Taver Johnson and nickels coach Ronnell Williams. It’s noteworthy that Desai mentioned Williams because Byard has been a versatile player in his career.

Here’s a look at how his snaps have broken down in his six games with the Titans this season, per PFF:

Free safety: 171 (44.0%)
Box: 129 (33.2%)
Slot corner: 87 (22.4%)
On the line: 2 (.5%)

“I think you've seen it really with our defense over these first seven weeks is we value that (versatility),” Desai said. “We teach that way. We train it, and that's kind of how our system has been installed. He'll fit right into that.

“Then as we grow with him in this defense, do what we feel that he is best at and what he feels he is best at.”

Eagles general manager Howie Roseman hasn’t been shy in recent seasons to make trades before the deadline and it felt like it was just a matter of time before he made a move to shore up the safety position in 2023.

Last week, Desai explained the process for evaluating potential additions in season and gave a ton of credit to the scouting department. Basically, the scouting department, led by Roseman, brings names to the coaching staff and gather opinions about that player.

“They are always ahead of it, and that helps us tremendously because our focus is right now on getting our players ready,” Desai said. “And that's been a tremendous help for them to be able to stay ahead.”

While the Eagles have shown a tendency to rotate at positions even in the back seven, it’s clear their top two safeties once healthy and caught up will be Byard and Reed Blankenship, creating an all Middle Tennessee State safety duo. And we know that Darius Slay and James Bradberry are the top cornerbacks outside.

What remains to be seen is what happens at the nickel corner spot. The Eagles have plenty of options once Bradley Roby (shoulder) is healthy. And we could see some combination of Roby, Sydney Brown, Eli Ricks and Josiah Scott.

There's a good chance the Eagles will eventually have a starting secondary with four players over the age of 30: Slay, Bradberry, Roby and Byard. There are some obvious concerns with that. But there are also some advantages.

"I think that is the value, the experience," Desai said. "The guys that have played a lot of football and seen a lot of football, you can always rely on their bank of knowledge, and we're growing that."

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