Film Review: Damiere Byrd Can Add Much-Needed Burner Ability to Patriots Offense
After a disappointing 2019 season for the New England Patriots offense, Bill Belichick added some new faces to that side of the ball this offseason. One new addition that could have a key role next season is wide receiver Damiere Byrd.
Byrd is a speedster; at his pro day in 2015 he posted a 40-yard dash time of 4.27 seconds, a vertical jump of 42 inches and a broad jump of 131 inches. Compared to the 2020 wide receiver class, Byrd would have been tied for the fastest time with Henry Ruggs, he would have had 4th best vertical, and he would have been tied for the 4th best broad jump with Ruggs and Denzel Mims.
Byrd being a great athlete is fantastic news for the Patriots. Defenses are forced to respect his speed and that can open up the field for the entire offense. Byrd will be competing for a roster spot, but he will be able to take Phillip Dorsett's former role and potentially be better than Dorsett was.
Last season with the Arizona Cardinals was the first time that Byrd got a lot of playing time and was able to capitalize on that and have a career year. He finished the year with 32 receptions for 359 yards and one touchdown. He has the potential to improve those numbers with New England if he is able to make the roster and stay healthy.
Let's get into his film.
Byrd, #14, was a solid route runner throughout the tape. He does a good job threatening corners with his blazing speed. On this play, Byrd is at the bottom of your screen and he is going up against one of the best corners in the NFL in Darius Slay. Byrd attacks Slay outside on this play and he wants to make Slay think that he is running a go route. Slay bites and is fully committed to defending the go route. Instead of a go route, Byrd runs a curl here and when he stops, he's able to gain a good amount of separation because Slay was committed to the vertical route.
On this play, we get to see some more of Byrd's route running. Byrd (top of the screen) runs an in route here and gives Kyler Murray a nice window to deliver this ball into. With his elite speed, Byrd is a threat to score on every play, so defenses have to be ready for that. Here, the Lions run man coverage but don't press Byrd at the line. With a free release, Byrd doesn't have to worry about getting bumped early and is able to run a solid route to get open. Byrd can be very deadly on routes such as this one and also crossing routes.
Here is another great example of Byrd versus man coverage. This is a 4th-and-short situation for the Cardinals here and Byrd is able to make a great play for them. The Ravens show heavy pressure here so Murray knows that he has to get the ball out quickly. Byrd is in a 1-on-1 matchup on the outside and he's able to win it to get the 1st down. The big reason that Byrd got open on this play was his release. The first move that Byrd makes is taking a step outside and then after that he explodes inside. The corner gets off-balance and Byrd is able to get open for a 1st down.
Two parts of Damiere Byrd's game are shown off on this play 1) how he does against press coverage and 2) how well he adjusts to the ball. Because of Byrd's small build, press coverage can be very effective against him if the corner can land his punch. The corner on this play is able to press Byrd and it throws off Byrd's route. Byrd is able to recover and Murray delivers a great ball that Byrd can make a play on. Byrd is able to adjust to the ball and bring it in for another 1st down.
This play is a perfect example of why defenses have to respect Byrd's speed. Byrd is able to fly past the corner here and get behind the deep safety. Byrd has elite speed and he is able to use it to get behind a defense and create splash plays just like this one. Also, Byrd was ruled down before the ball came out so this was not a fumble.
Byrd can be lethal on slants and unlike Phillip Dorsett, he can break tackles at times and make defenses pay for not wrapping him up. Byrd runs a nice slant here and is able to pick up a solid amount of yards before the defense can even touch him. Once the defense gets to him, Byrd breaks the linebackers tackle attempt and bounces off of the safety and is able to get a lot more yards.
This was a good route against first-year cornerback Greedy Williams. Byrd starts off going vertical so Williams has to respect his speed. Byrd then fakes the post route inside to get Williams to adjust to that route. He then cuts outside, creating more than enough separation between himself and Williams. A play like this happens because corners have to respect the fact that Byrd can get right past them and score if they are not careful.
This is another good example of Byrd's release at the line and his potential as a big-play receiver. Byrd hits this corner with a head fake, he looks inside to try and sell that and then goes outside. Byrd is faster than this corner so once he gets past the line of scrimmage and doesn't get bumped, he is in control of this play. Murray drops a perfect pass here and Byrd shows off his strong hands to make sure the corner doesn't break this big play up.
Byrd shows off his strong hands here too and he showcases how dangerous he can be on slants. The Rams are showing a blitz here, so everyone knows that this ball is coming out quickly. Byrd does a great job at defeating this corner's hands at the line of scrimmage. When the corner goes for his punch, Byrd swipes his hand away and goes inside. Byrd makes a nice catch and is able to finish it for the touchdown.
With Byrd's elite speed, a lot of teams will play off-coverage to make sure that Byrd cannot get behind them and create big plays. Because of this, Byrd is able to get free yards just like on this play. Los Angeles plays off of Byrd here and the Cardinals have him run a speed out. A speed out is an out-route, but the receiver makes the cut outside much sooner than he would if he was running a traditional out-route. Byrd is able to get a free catch because of the off-coverage and then he's able to get extra yards. Byrd can get yards quickly and turn short routes into good gains.
Byrd has all of the tools to be a solid contributor to the Patriots offense this year. He has the ability to take over Dorsett's role this year and make splash plays. With his speed, he can also help open the field for players like N'Keal Harry. Harry could line up in the slot while Byrd is running a go route on the outside, and that will clear out coverage for Harry to potentially make a big play with his YAC ability.
We will have to see if Byrd will be able to make the final roster, but he is a solid player that could add much needed speed to the offense.
