Kerry Hyder has been a pleasant surprise on a San Francisco 49ers defensive line that has been decimated by injuries this season. In the absence of edge rushers Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, Hyder has racked up 20 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 10 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Reference.
Hyder's overall Pro Football Focus grade of 70.8 is a career-high, and the analytics site credits the defender with 21 total pressures in 134 pass-rush attempts. He owns a pass-rushing-productivity grade of 9.9, which ranks as the fourth-best among NFL edge rushers. The only edge defenders who have made more of an impact rushing quarterbacks are Aldon Smith of the Dallas Cowboys (10.7 grade), T.J. Watt of the Pittsburgh Steelers (10.4), and Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns (10.1), according to Pro Football Focus.
Brace yourselves. The NFL's Top 4 in PFF edge-rushing productivity is a doozy of a list… 👀
1. Aldon Smith
— David Lombardi (@LombardiHimself) October 15, 2020
2. T.J. Watt
3. Myles Garrett
4. Kerry Hyder
The 49ers signed Hyder to a one-year deal on March 25. He entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the New York Jets in 2014 and spent time with the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys before joining San Francisco.
Teammate and fellow defensive end Arik Armstead joined 95.7 The Game this week and was asked about Hyder.
"Kerry's been playing amazing," Armstead told Damon Bruce, Ray Ratto, and Matt Kolsky. "He's a guy that has some history with our (defensive line) coach, [Kris Kocurek]. He's kind of been multiple places where Kris has been, and he's a guy that knows the system and plays extremely hard, and he's extremely talented."
Hyder's best season came in 2016 while working with Kocurek in Detroit. He registered career-highs in sacks (8.0), tackles (36), and quarterback hits (19) that year.
"People sleep on him, but he's an amazing player," Armstead continued, "and I think he's waking up some people this year and showing people what he can do."
You can listen to the entire conversation with Armstead below.