Green Bay Packers: Ted Thompson’s top 30 draft picks of all-time
17. Micah Hyde (Ray’s pick)
If there is one diamond that Ted Thompson has uncovered in the draft rough, it’s Micah Hyde.
Selected 159th overall, Hyde was taken in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft, and has done nothing except make plays in his first three seasons in Green Bay.
While many will point to the missed interception of that 2013 playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers, that play was just a blip on the screen for Hyde.
He has not only been versatile and willing to move positions, but he’s been a solid special teams player who has three returned kicks for touchdowns, including two that he returned in 2014.
Hyde is a natural athlete, one who moves well covering receivers, one that can crowd the line of scrimmage and disrupt things in the backfield and one who has made play after play when called upon.
He didn’t miss a single game in his first two season, but did miss one in 2015.
Though his statistics in pass coverage aren’t eye-popping, he has been a solid tackler for the Packers.
In his rookie year he accounted for 45 tackles and 16 assists. Mr. Consistency did much the same in 2014 with 48 tackles and 14 assists and carried that forward in 2015 with 46 tackles and four assists.
In his rookie year of 2013, he had three passes defensed and two forced fumbles. He’s had a sack each of his first three seasons.
Though he’s not a Randall Cobb when it comes to all purpose yards, his numbers are solid. In his rookie year when he returned 24 kicks, his APYs were at 827. Last year when he returned just 14 kicks, he added another 317 all purpose yards. In 2015, he returned 27 punts for 157 yards and eight kickoffs for 180 yards.
And when he was asked in 2014 to move from cornerback to safety, he did so without complaint, while at the same time helping to solidify a position of weakness and making it a position of strength.
Should Hyde continue to show he belongs in this league this coming season, he will be setting himself up for a big payday when he finally hits free agency after the 2016 season.
Until then, he will be known as one of the diamonds found deep in the draft rough by Ted Thompson.
Next: No. 17 (Freddie's pick)