Kevin Leon Byard III (born August 17, 1993) is an American professional football safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the third round of the 2016 NFL draft. In 2017, his second season in the NFL, Byard was selected to the Pro Bowl and was named the first-team All-Pro after co-leading the NFL in interceptions and leading the NFL in takeaways with 10 (eight interceptions and two fumble recoveries). He was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in 2023 before joining the Chicago Bears the following season. Byard led the NFL in interceptions again in 2025.
Early life Byard was born on August 17, 1993, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After his parents divorced when he was 14, Byard moved to Atlanta, Georgia with his mother and siblings. Byard attended Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Lithonia, Georgia, where he participated in football and track.
College career Byard played for the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders of Middle Tennessee State University from 2012 to 2015. He was redshirted in 2011. Byard earned Honorable Mention All-Conference USA honors in 2013. In 2014 and 2015, he was named First-team All-Conference USA. Byard's 19 career interceptions are the most in school history. He graduated from Middle Tennessee in May 2015 with a degree in liberal studies.
Professional career Pre-draft On November 22, 2015, Byard announced on Twitter that he had accepted his invitation to play in the 2016 Senior Bowl. During the week leading up to the Senior Bowl, Byard was impressive during practices as he displayed his ball-hawking and athletic ability. Byard met with representatives from the Atlanta Falcons during the week. He was not one of the 60 defensive backs invited to the NFL Combine. On March 31, 2016, Byard participated at Middle Tennessee's pro day, along with 18 other teammates, and was the top prospect participating with representatives and scouts from 24 NFL teams attending. He surprised many scouts and analysts with a 4.46 and 4.50 in the 40-yard dash as many scouting reports listed speed as one of his weaknesses. Byard met with representatives from the Oakland Raiders, Detroit Lions, and Tennessee Titans during his pro day. He had official private visits or workouts with 12 NFL teams, including the Miami Dolphins, Green Bay Packers, Cleveland Browns, Titans, and Los Angeles Rams. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Byard received many mixed draft projections from draft experts and scouts, with some (DraftScout.com) projecting him to be a third or fourth-round pick to others (NFL.com) projecting him to be drafted in the sixth or seventh round. Byard was ranked the fifth best strong safety prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.
Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans selected Byard in the third round (64th overall) of the 2016 NFL draft. He was the 24th player ever drafted from Middle Tennessee State and the highest player drafted from there since Tyrone Calico (second round, 60th overall) in 2003, who was also drafted by the Titans. Byard was the fifth safety selected in the draft.
2016
On July 18, 2016, the Titans signed Byard to a four-year, $3.63 million rookie contract with an initial signing bonus of $897,060.
Byard entered training camp as a candidate to earn a starting safety role following the departure of Michael Griffin, but had to compete against veterans Rashad Johnson and Da'Norris Searcy under defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau. During training camp, Daimion Stafford began taking over first-team reps from Byard and Searcy. Head coach Mike Mularkey named him a backup to begin the season, behind starting safeties Rashad Johnson and Da'Norris Searcy and primary backup Daimion Stafford.
Byard made his professional regular season debut in the season-opening 25–16 loss to the Minnesota Vikings and made five solo tackles. During Week 9 against the San Diego Chargers, Byard collected a season-high 10 combined tackles (five solo) and a pass deflection in the 43–35 road loss. His playing time increased after Rashad Johnson suffered a neck injury and was subsequently inactive for two games (Weeks 8–9). After performing well, he supplanted Johnson as the starting free safety. Byard earned his first career start in Week 10 against the Green Bay Packers and finished the 47–25 victory with seven solo tackles and made his first career sack on Aaron Rodgers for an eight-yard loss. Although Johnson returned from injury in Week 10, Byard remained the starting free safety for the last seven games of the season.
Byard finished his rookie year with 58 combined tackles (44 solo), a sack, and four pass deflections in 16 games and seven starts. He also finished second on the team with 10 special teams tackles. Byard received an overall grade of 62.5 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2016.
2017
Byard entered training camp slated as the de facto free safety after they opted not to re-sign Rashad Johnson. Head coach Mike Mularkey named Byard the starting free safety to begin the regular season.
During the season-opening 26–16 loss to the Oakland Raiders, Byard recorded a team-high eight combined tackles (tied with Wesley Woodyard). In the next game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, he had six combined tackles (three solo) and a pass deflection during the 37–16 road victory. The following week against the Seattle Seahawks, Byard once again recorded six combined tackles (two solo) and a pass deflection in the 33–27 victory.
During Week 4 against the Houston Texans, Byard recorded a season-high nine combined tackles (four solo), two pass deflections, and made his first career interception from a pass thrown by Deshaun Watson to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins in the 57–14 road loss. In the next game against the Miami Dolphins, Byard had five combined tackles (four solo) and a fumble recovery during the 16–10 road loss. Two weeks later against the Cleveland Browns, he recorded four combined tackles (two solo), three pass deflections, and a career-high three interceptions off passes by DeShone Kizer and Cody Kessler in the 12–9 overtime road victory. Byard was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance.
Following a Week 8 bye, the Titans returned home to face the Baltimore Ravens. Byard finished the 23–20 victory with four solo tackles, three pass deflections, and two interceptions off passes by Joe Flacco. Byard became the fifth player in NFL history to record five interceptions in a two-game span joining DeAngelo Hall (2010), Albert Lewis (1985), Willie Buchanon (1978), and Mike Haynes (1976). In the next game against the Cincinnati Bengals, he recorded six combined tackles (four solo) and two pass deflections during the 24–20 victory.
During a Week 12 20–16 road victory over the Indianapolis Colts, Byard recorded five combined tackles (three solo) and a fumble recovery. Byard received a grade of 89.9 from Pro Football Focus which was the third highest grade among safeties through the first 12 games, only behind Harrison Smith (94.2) and Adrian Amos (92.3). In the next game against the Texans, he tied his season high of nine combined tackles (six solo) and also deflected a pass during the 24–13 victory. During the regular season finale against the Jaguars, Byard recorded six combined tackles (four solo), two pass deflections, and had two interceptions on passes thrown by Blake Bortles in the 15–10 victory. Byard earned his second AFC Defensive Player of the Week award of the season for his performance.
Byard finished his second professional season with 87 combined tackles (62 solo), 16 pass deflections, two fumble recoveries, and a league-leading eight interceptions in 16 games and starts. Byard was named first-team All-Pro. Pro Football Focus had him finish the season with an overall grade of 87.0 in 2017. The Titans finished second in the AFC South with a 9–7 record and qualified for the playoffs as the #5-seed. During the Wild Card Round against the Kansas City Chiefs, Byard started in his first NFL playoff game and recorded five solo tackles in the 22–21 comeback road victory. In the Divisional Round against New England Patriots, Byard had 10 combined tackles (nine solo) during the 35–14 road loss. On January 21, 2018, Byard earned his first career Pro Bowl selection to appear in the 2018 Pro Bowl as an injury replacement after Bills' safety Micah Hyde bowed out due to a concussion. Byard was also ranked 80th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2018.
2018
On January 20, 2018, the Titans hired former Houston Texans defensive coordinator Mike Vrabel to be their new head coach following the departure of Mike Mularkey. New defensive coordinator Dean Pees opted to retain Byard as a starting safety, and Vrabel named Byard the starting strong safety to begin the season and paired him with free safety Kenny Vaccaro.
During the season-opening 27–20 road loss to the Dolphins, Byard had three solo tackles and a pass deflection. In the next game against the Texans, he recorded a team-high eight combined tackles (seven solo) and threw a 66-yard touchdown to rookie cornerback Dane Cruikshank on a fake punt on the Titans' opening drive during the first quarter of the 20–17 victory. Two weeks later against the Philadelphia Eagles, Byard had a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) in the 26–20 overtime victory.
During Week 6 against the Ravens, Byard recorded five combined tackles (four solo), a pass deflection, and his first interception of the season off of Joe Flacco in the 21–0 shutout loss. Three weeks later against the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football, he had five combined tackles (three solo), a pass deflection, and intercepted a pass by Dak Prescott to wide receiver Amari Cooper in the endzone during the 28–14 road victory. After the pick, Byard celebrated on the Dallas Cowboys' star logo at midfield. The celebration was widely publicized as it resembled Terrell Owens' infamous celebration from the early 2000s. This caused Owens to tweet "I feel like I've seen this before" after the celebration occurred. Byard was fined $10,026 for the celebration. In the next game against the Patriots, he recorded four combined tackles (three solo) and a pass deflection during the 34–10 victory.
During a Week 11 38–10 road loss to the Colts, Byard had a team-high nine combined tackles (tied with Adoree' Jackson). Three weeks later against the Jaguars on Thursday Night Football, he recorded three combined tackles (two solo) and his first sack of the season on Cody Kessler in the 30–9 victory. In the next game against the New York Giants, Byard had five combined tackles (four solo), two pass deflections, set a career-high with his second sack of the season, and intercepted a pass by Eli Manning to wide receiver Russell Shepard during the 17–0 shutout road victory.
During Week 16 against the Washington Redskins, Byard recorded nine combined tackles (six solo), tied his season-high of two pass deflections, and secured the 25–16 comeback victory by intercepting a pass attempt by Josh Johnson to wide receiver Josh Doctson near the end of the fourth quarter. In the regular-season finale against the Colts on Sunday Night Football, Byard had 10 combined tackles (six solo) during the 33–17 loss.
Byard finished the 2018 season with 90 combined tackles (62 solo), a career-high two sacks, eight pass deflections, and four interceptions in 16 games and starts. His overall grade from Pro Football Focus was 88.4 in 2018.
2019