Name: Damiere Byrd
No.: 14.
Pro position: Wide receiver.
DOB: 1/27/93 (27)
College: South Carolina.
Hgt: 5-9.
Wgt: 173 pounds.
Measurables (draftscout.com) — 40y: 4.28. 10y: 1.51. Arms: 30 inches. Hands: 8 inches. Vert: 42. 3-cone: 6.6. Short Shuttle: 4.03. Broad jump: 10-11. 225-pound Bench: 13 reps.
Yr/Rnd/Team: 2015/Undrafted/Panthers.
Last pro team: Cardinals.
Games/starts, snap%: 28 career games, six starts; 11 games and 3 starts in '19; 43% of offensive snaps in '19.
Key stats: Career—44 catches on 66 targets for 488 yards (11.1 aveage), 3 TD. Two career drops. 2019—32 catches on 46 targets, 359 yards (11.2 average), 1 TD, long of 58.
PFF grades
Games evaluated: 2019 Wks 1-3, 17. Panthers punt returns.
Physical traits: For a smaller player, he's well put-together and that shows up on film with his ability to bounce off tackles. ... Good lower body but not overly bulky.
Strengths
- Does a good job of coming back for the ball.
- Hands catcher, doesn't let it get into his body.
- Shows great concentration on catches through arm traffic and doesn't drop very many passes.
- Tracks deep ball well and can catch over either shoulder.
- Fast off the line and consistent speed down the field. Solid cuts.
- Bounces off tackles.
Weaknesses
- Doesn't run decisive on crossing patterns with traffic.
- Would like to see him have harder cuts at the top of routes — he has that ability.
- At times, fades his routes instead of coming straight across the field.
- Despite timed speed, he hasn't played to it so far. He doesn't blow past many people, and cornerbacks are not scared enough to give him ample space. Byrd's speed does not help him that much against man coverage.
Game film
Solid start with a new team.
Third-down catch shows some potential and need for polish.
Murray shows more trust in Byrd on back-to-back plays.
Phenomenal concentration catch (sorry for the Brady to Brown highlight ... sigh)
Showing his ability as a deep vertical threat.
A few punt returns with the Panthers, including one against the Patriots in a preseason scrub time.
Player comparison
Brandin Cooks.
Yeah, this surprised me as well but the more I watched him in games, this is what I kept coming back, and it's not a fully positive comparison.
Like Cooks, Byrd is timed very fast but doesn't really play to it, especially with the ball in their hands. Both are kind of tight in the hips and not the most fluid athletes. And like Cooks, Byrd is really an outside player despite the small size.
Not saying Byrd is going to give you Cooks' Patriots production (over 1,000 yards in 2017), but he has a similar build, speed and outside ability. Byrd can get deep and give some of that production.
That being said, Byrd is a better overall athlete than Cooks, especially with the ball in his hands. Cooks just ran a bunch of straight lines and didn't break many tackles. Byrd is better in both areas.
Fit in Patriots scheme
He'll be in the mix as an X receiver in this offense with N'Keal Harry. Hopefully, Byrd can bring some of the same jet sweep and trick plays they got out of Cordarrelle Patterson. He's also a solid punt returner, but nothing spectacular. Another option there for a spot that, hopefully, doesn't include Julian Edelman and Mohamed Sanu anymore.
Best-case Patriots scenario
He becomes an every-down third or fourth receiver depending on the opponent (Byrd and Harry would be interchangeable) that provides a deep threat no one else can bring with the current personnel. Byrd would also give a lot of different looks as far as jet sweeps, tunnel screens and other deceptive plays. In a perfect world, they get him to unleash the athlete that's in there and he becomes a well-rounded weapon.
Worst-case Patriots scenario
He's more Phillip Dorsett than Cooks in that he's another burner as far as timed speed, but it doesn't translate on the field and he's not great at separating. Becomes just a fourth or fifth option in the offense, with the occasional deceptive play and mediocre punt returns.
Parting thoughts
Byrd is a tough player to have a conviction on. You want to believe in the people in the Cardinals organization who believe in him a great deal and feel he's just now starting to get the game and entering the prime of his career. You see the speed, his terrific hands and toughness ... you want to say, "Hot damn, I think the Patriots have something here." Byrd, at times, looks like a poor man's Brandin Cooks in that he can burn, catches everything and Byrd's even better on contested catches — Byrd is much tougher and smarter than Cooks.
And considering he was in a college offense, with a first-year coach (Kliff Kingsbury) and rookie QB (Kyler Murray ... can I buy stock in that kid? Wow.), that didn't put Byrd's abilities to the best use — not nearly enough drags, screens and in-cuts where he can just get the ball in his hands and make a play, and Byrd was very rarely put in motion to help get him option (Kingsbury rarely used motion at all) — and you think Josh McDaniels and Co. can do a much better job.
But then you watch Byrd some more and you think for the second-straight year he's going to be with another team, with a new offense and quarterback, so how is he going to play faster under those circumstances?
Considering what is going on and his career circumstances, the first year is going to be a challenge for him to be a big instant-impact guy, but you're intrigued if Byrd can stick around and what he could do down the road. But he's only signed to a one-year contract.
The big key for the Patriots, if they're really going to have a player here, is to get him to play looser, faster and more athletic than what he's shown to this point. Byrd thinks too much and plays like a robot, instead of just cutting it loose and being a playmaker. If the Patriots can find a way to do that, then they could really have something here — a Cooks-like deep threat who is more athletic and can become a threat in all areas of the field.
I really like the signing, especially on short money, and it was good work by the front office to find a player who was being marginalized due to situations outside his control with the Cardinals. But Byrd's going to need some coaching up to be better than he is right now. The good thing, he's very smart and willing to put in the work. Dorsett was as well, but hopefully the Patriots learned a few lessons and maybe a new quarterback will be a little more eager to spread the ball around.