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Saints' Jairus Byrd Will Win Defensive Player of the Year, and Here's Why | Bleacher Report

In the eyes of NFL players, New Orleans Saints safety and former Buffalo Bill Jairus Byrd wasn’t good enough to be one of the top 100 players of 2014. This is a snub by all accounts, and pundits such as NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling and The Times-Picayune’s Rachel Whittaker agree that Byrd should have made an appearance.

Luckily, Byrd’s ranking should skyrocket next year, with the 2014 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award in hand.

Wait, over J.J. Watt? Over Earl Thomas? Over Luke Kuechly, the award’s most recent winner?

Absolutely. The players above—along with many, many others not listed—will have a legitimate shot at snagging the award for themselves. However, when looking at the past Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year winners, there is a pattern of criteria that has been satisfied. Byrd is lining up perfectly with those requirements, more so than any player on the Top 100 list. And after signing a much-ballyhooed six year, $56 million contract with New Orleans, Byrd is in a great position to showcase his talents to fans outside of Buffalo.

Let’s break down the requirements for Defensive Player of the Year and how Byrd satisfies each one...

The Saints have much more defensive talent than people realize—the criminally underrated Keenan Lewis among them—but none of that talent is as valuable as Byrd.