STRENGTHS - Smooth and fluid athletically, Hyde is able to flip hips and change directions easily out in space to adjust to receiver. At his best playing off the receiver where he can read the QB/Pass and close on ball to try and make a play. When he is in good coverage position as ball arrives he has the long arms and ball skills to make a play on the ball. With his height, long arms and athleticism he does a good job of covering possession type receivers in man coverage. He is willing to get hands on WR during route and knows how to use body to cut-off and shield WR from ball. Having played cornerback at Iowa, Hyde's experience lining up as an outside cornerback and slot cornerback gives him the versatility to come down from safety alignment to cover receivers and tight ends in different defensive packages.
WEAKNESSES - Hype is a "tweener" as he has the natural feel for coverage and ball skills of a cornerback, but lacks the playing speed to stay with receiver on deep route and does not have the burst to catch up when he allows separation. However, he is not a physical hitter/tackler and seems content to sit back and allow teammates to make the tackle, which is a major issue when you are the back stop of the defense. While he is no doubt versatile due to his experience playing cornerback, he will need time to adjust and develop playing safety.
SUMMARY - Hyde has been a productive starting cornerback since he arrived at Iowa, but lacks the physical tools to carry over his production to the NFL level. He is a good kid with excellent character who will be willing to switch to safety if that is what it takes for him to stick in the NFL (Do not worry about the incident that happened in 2012 as sources have told us he is a top character kid with no off-field concerns). Overall, I do not believe that Hyde can be a productive starter in the NFL because he is a "tweener" who has not proven he can be the strong and physical tackler needed to be effective playing safety. With his versatility he has the tools to stick as a backup safety and backup cornerback, but to do so he would need to step up and play more physical on special teams that he has shown a desire to on defense. Hyde would be a good free agent signing because of his versatility, intelligence and character, but could be picked in the late rounds by a team.