WATCH: New Eagles safety Kevin Byard says he grew up watching Brian Dawkins highlights before every game

Brian Cass
October 26, 2023
Eagles
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On Monday, the Eagles traded for Titans safety and Philly native Kevin Byard. He should be a huge boost for a secondary that’s dealt with copious amounts of injuries in 2023, and it already looks like he’s going to fit right in here.

Spending his first 14 years of life in Philadelphia, Byard already has an understanding of what it takes to succeed in this city. Growing up as an aspiring NFL safety, Byard routinely watched Brian Dawkins clips to get himself in the right mindset to dominate on the field.

He spoke about Dawkins’ inspiration for him when speaking with Eagles media members for the first time this week.

The Eagles new safety on watching Brian Dawkins highlights

Kevin Byard says he grew up a huge Brian Dawkins fan. He used to watch Dawkins highlights as a hype video before he played in high school

The locker he was given by the #Eagles is the same locker Brian Dawkins had pic.twitter.com/3S3XDnzrcN
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) October 25, 2023

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Prior to this clip, one of the reporters told Byard that the locker he was given was actually the same one Dawkins had back in the day.

Although Byard’s career isn’t exactly on the level of Dawkins’, he’s carved out a very successful seven and a half years in the NFL. He earned first-team All-Pro status in 2017 and 2021 and has amassed 27 interceptions since 2017. Byard also isn’t afraid to mix it up around the line of scrimmage, likely taking some keys from Dawkins’ play style. Per Pro Football Focus, Byard has posted an 88.7 tackling grade this season.

If Byard can channel just a little bit of his inner Dawkins, he’ll do just fine here in Philly. And he may even be able to help the Eagles reach their goal of bringing home the Lombardi Trophy.