Houston Texans select Solomon Byrd in seventh round of 2024 NFL Draft
Solomon Byrd is officially off the board at the 2024 NFL Draft, being selected in the seventh round by the Houston Texans. A great moment for the USC Trojans product, making it into the league after spending six seasons playing college football.
Byrd’s journey began in 2018 at Wyoming, taking a redshirt during his true freshman season. Two years later, he opted out of playing football in 2020 due to COVID-19. Returning the following year saw him record 37 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, and 3.5 sacks.
His numbers were good enough to attract interest from USC after entering the NCAA transfer portal. Byrd took advantage of the opportunity and played nicely into the rotation during his two seasons in Los Angeles.
This past season was a great one for Byrd, earning an All-Pac-12 honorable mention. He recorded 49 tackles, a team-leading 11.0 tackles for loss, and six sacks. While there were once again not too many praises sung about the USC defense under Alex Grinch, Byrd was a bright spot.
Byrd played high school football at Palm Dale (CA) William Knight, where he was a three-star prospect. He was the No. 2,600 overall recruit in the 2018 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Solomon Byrd
Lance Zierlein of the NFL Network gave his analysis of Byrd heading into the Draft, talking about his strengths and weaknesses.
Zierlein does like the production Byrd was able to put up, both at Wyoming and USC. However, the overall game is not there in his eyes to become a consistent player in the NFL. There are traits to work with though, most likely being the reason why Byrd was given an opportunity.
“An edge defender with a fairly productive run at both Wyoming and USC, Byrd fails to stand out physically or athletically on tape,” Zierlein said. “He plays with solid aggression and play strength but finds himself entangled with blockers more than he should.
“He can be creative when attacking tackles at the top of the rush, but he struggled to get much done when tasked with taking on some of the more talented opponents on the schedule. Byrd possesses certain play features that are worthy of consideration, but he might not have enough above-average qualities to make much of a mark in the league.”