The Bears signed Damiere Byrd with the intention of upgrading speed in their receiver corps, especially the slot.
They may have acquired more. It might simply depend on how much they decide to use him, because the teams that gave him chances were pleased with the re
"Damiere's a smart kid that has good route-running ability and has done a good job picking up our offense," Patriots coach Bill Belichick told New England reporters last season in Week 7 after Byrd had surprised some people. "He's been productive."
Byrd is a receiver who takes nothing for granted because he rose up from nowhere in the NFL despite ridiculous speed. He ran a 4.28 at his South Carolina pro day in the 40 when he wasn't invited to the combine. Some scouts clocked it at 4.25 but the official time went down as 4.28. He ran a 4.03 in the short shuttle and 6.6 in the three-cone drill, which is hauling.
Despite this speed Byrd never really made an impact as an undrafted free agent with Carolina. The Panthers got only a few catches from him and a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. He was on and off their practice squad, sat on the bench mostly when he was active and suffered broken arms in successive seasons. It led to his departure, which actually was the break he really needed.
Byrd got more use in Arizona and managed to avoid any more broken bones. He made a career-high 32 receptions for 359 yards and the analytics website Pro Football Focus saw him as 10th among all receivers at gaining separation at a 3.2-ayrd average. He upped that total to 47 receptions with New England last year as one of Cam Newton's top wide receiver targets, and in both of his last two stops showed great hands by making good on 69.6% and 61% of his chances according to Sportradar, an official NFL stat partner.
Anthony Miller has been far more productive over his career working in the slot than Byrd. So before the Bears decide Miller is expendable they need to know what they have. This is a receiver with big-play potential but he has never averaged more than the 12.9 yards per catch he had last season. For that one season he was comparable to what Miller's production was over his last two seasons.
Although Carolina used Byrd for returns, the Panthers barely scratched the surface for him on special teams use and he wasn't a special teams player in his last two stops. He averaged 25.2 yards on 14 kick returns and 8.1 yards on 14 punts, respectable numbers if performed on a larger scale.
Would the Bears want to go with a combination of Byrd and rookie Dazz Newsome, or would they stick with Miller for the final year of his rookie contract? Or would they just keep Byrd around as an alternative speed option, much the way they did with Ted Ginn Jr. before they learned he didn't have much left?
The key to it all might not be his speed but the route-running ability Belichick spoke about, something which carries far more weight with coaches.
Damiere Byrd at a glance
Career: Sixth season, 91 receptions, 143 targets, 1,092 yards, 12.0 per catch, 4 TDs.
2020: 47 receptions, 77 targets, 604 yards, 12.9 yards per catch, 1 TD.
The number: 2. Byrd was targeted only two times all year in the red zone by New England quarterbacks.
2021 projection: 21 receptions, 34 targets, 248 yards, 1 TD. Five kick returns, 20.5-yard average.
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