The San Francisco 49ers added a new piece to their defensive line in free agency by signing former Dallas Cowboys lineman Kerry Hyder, who played under defensive line coach Kris Kocurek in Detroit.
For us to get a better idea of the Niners’ newest defensive lineman, I reached out to my good friend John Owning of Dallas Morning News, who has covered the Cowboys for the last handful of years. Owning also specializes in defensive line play, so this is right up his wheelhouse.
Can you recap his time with the Cowboys?
Kerry Hyder was a quality member of the Cowboys defensive line rotation, spending time at nearly every spot on Dallas’ defensive front. He was a rather consistent pass rush presence when aligned in the interior, posting multiple pressures in 8 games last season.
What are Hyder’s strengths?
Hyder’s biggest strength is his hand technique, which enables him to be an effective rotational rusher. He’s very strong at the point and doesn’t give much ground in the run game. Hyder’s biggest strength is his hand technique, which enables him to be an effective rotational rusher. He’s very strong at the point and doesn’t give much ground in the run game.
What are Hyder’s weaknesses?
I’d say his biggest weakness is his lack of athleticism, which really hurts his ability to rush off the edge. Hyder lacks the juice to translate his pressure into sacks. Lack of athleticism also hurts his range as a LOS scrimmage defender. Don’t see him chasing down much from behind. He gets into some trouble when he tries to work around blocks to penetrate.
What is Hyder’s best fit?
To me, his best fit is as a base end on run-pass downs who reduces inside to 3T (or even 1T if there’s a matchup you want to exploit) in passing situations.
What do we need to know about him that the box score won’t tell us?
That he is a tireless worker, every day at Cowboys training camp, Hyder arrived early and was the 1st DL on the field for practice. He’d routinely go over his pass rush technique and footwork while also focusing on pad level and footwork against the run. He had a lot of competition to make the DL, but he cleanly beat out all the competition.