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Jauron was the Head Coach in Buffalo from 2006-2009. Heading into what would be his final season with the organization, the Bills drafted Jairus Byrd with their 2nd round pick; 42nd overall. Byrd, for the first time in his young career, is a free agent. According to Brian Galliford - over at Buffalo Rumblings - the Bills have yet to begin contract negotiations with their talented young safety.
It’s no secret that the Rams, who have more questions than answers at the position, could certainly use the services of an elite-level safety to shore up their secondary. Byrd, who made the Pro Bowl in 2012 [albeit as an alternate for Ed Reed], has had a tremendous start to his career.
SEASON
TEAM
GP
COMB
TOTAL
AST
SACK
FF
FR
YDS
INT
YDS
AVG
LNG
TD
PD
STF
STFYDS
KB
2009
14
45
33
12
0.0
0
0
0
9
118
13
37
0
11
0
0
0
2010
16
89
62
27
1.0
3
2
0
1
37
37
37
1
2
1
9
0
2011
16
98
75
23
1.0
3
1
0
3
88
29
37
1
8
4
22
0
2012
16
76
53
23
0.0
4
2
0
5
81
16
45
0
6
5
10
0
Career
62
308
223
85
2.0
10
5
0
18
324
18
45
2
27
10
41
0
If you weren’t interested in Byrd, I’ll re-direct your eyes to the "INT" column above. He’s amassed 18 INT’s over his first four years; nine of which came in his rookie campaign. Prior to that, the Oregon product had tallied 17 INT’s in his first three seasons in college football. A ‘ball hawk’ in the Rams secondary would be welcomed. Craig Dahl and Quintin Mikell have combined for 11 INT’s over the past four years. The majority of those [5], came from Mikell…while he was in Philadelphia.
If his affiliation with Dick Jauron isn’t enticing, Byrd is already familiar with the St. Louis Rams organization. Jairus’ father - Gil Byrd - was an assistant coach [secondary] for the Rams in 2005. It was at that time, when Jairus was still in high school, he met his mentor: Rams great, eight-time Pro Bowler, Aeneas Williams. The two are so close, Byrd even refers to him as “Uncle Aeneas." Here’s what Williams - a close friend of the Byrd family - had to say about the rookie:
I think he can be an All-Pro consistently. I think he has the ability.
What makes you an impact player is when that offensive team, going into their game plan during the week, has to account for you. I believe he's definitely one of those guys that - if they're not already accounting for him - they're at least acknowledging 'You need to know where 31 is.' They [Buffalo] got first round talent.