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The Buffalo Bills have one of the best safety pairings in the entire NFL. This is something that Bills fans know well. While Micah Hyde is the half of the duo known to most fans outside of Bills Mafia, the other half of the team’s safety pairing is no slouch, either.
Hyde’s time with the Green Bay Packers gave him some exposure to national audiences as a younger player. Combined with his stellar play, that may add to his national profile. The player we’ll examine today has flown under the radar throughout his time with the Bills, and was even a bit of an afterthought upon signing with the team. Over the last two seasons, however, he has proven himself to be an outstanding football player.
In our latest installment of “90 players in 90 days,” we profile the second of Buffalo’s dynamic starting safeties.
Name: Jordan Poyer
Number: 21
Position: S
Height/Weight: 6’ 191 lbs.
Age: 28 (29 on 4/25/20)
Experience/Draft: 7; drafted in the seventh round (218 overall) by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2013 NFL Draft
College: Oregon State
Acquired: Signed as UFA on 3/9/17
Financial situation (per Spotrac): Poyer enters the third year of a four-year pact signed in 2017 worth a total of $13 million. Of that number, $7.4 million was guaranteed. For the 2019 season, Poyer carries a cap hit of $4.325 million, and if the Bills were to release him, they’d be on the hook for a dead cap charge of $1.9 million. They’d also be incredibly foolish.
2018 Recap: Poyer built on his strong 2017 campaign with an equally strong 2018 season. Poyer started all 16 games for the first time in his NFL career, and he set a career high with 100 tackles. That total was second on the team. Poyer notched 4 interceptions, 6 pass breakups, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery, 2 sacks, 9 tackles for loss, and 3 quarterback hits.
Positional outlook: Poyer is a clear starter along with Micah Hyde on the back line of Buffalo’s defense. Kurt Coleman, Dean Marlowe, Abraham Wallace, and Jaquan Johnson are all vying for backup roles, as is Siran Neal, though he has played mostly at slot corner this summer.
2019 Offseason: Poyer has participated in all offseason activities to date.
2019 Season outlook: Perhaps this is the year that Poyer finally nets the national recognition that his outstanding play in Buffalo has deserved. From a sheer numerical standpoint, he has been better than Hyde since the pair signed in 2017, even though he has received much less of the praise. Poyer’s versatility makes him an elite force in the defensive backfield, and it should continue to allow the Bills to excel on defense in 2019.