Who the heck is Torry McTyer?

Torry McTyer is going to make the Washington Football Team’s roster this year. The 5th year veteran arrived in DC earlier this year with almost no fanfare and signed to a reserve/futures contract in mid-January, after his practice squad contract with the Bengals expired.

McTyer has NFL roots, as the son of formers Browns/Eagles cornerback Tim McTyer, but hadn’t produced much in three seasons with the Dolphins and Bengals, and received almost no hype going into OTAs. To the extent that most folks considered McTyer, I suspect it was as a camp body. But then, training camp began, and ever since, the local press hasn’t been able to keep his name out of their mouths.

Where Did He Come From?

McTyer was an undrafted free agent from UNLV, grabbed by the Dolphins after the 2017 draft. In his 4 years at UNLV, he had 134 total tackles, 3 interceptions, and 22 passes defended, finishing 10th in the nation in that statistic during his senior season (1.4 PD/game). He also returned kicks his senior season, averaging 19.2 yards per return.

Playing for the Dolphins with current Washington safety Bobby McCain in 2018, McTyer made an impression on the head coach there during training camp as well:

“I think he’s had a good start to camp,” said [Adam] Gase. “For the way that we’ve operated over the last previous training camps and going into this one, I’ve told the defensive staff ‘let’s not wait around; if we feel like a guy is playing well, give him opportunities, especially with the first group.’

He would play in 15 games for the Dolphins that year, including starting 3 of them in a fairly talented secondary. McTyer was waived before the 2019 season and picked up by the Chiefs and signed to their practice squad.

A few weeks later, he was poached by the Bengals, joining a defensive backfield that included current Washington cornerback William Jackson III. He would play in seven games for the Bengals over two years, but eventually make his way into free agency.

Landing in DC

In a surprisingly crowded cornerback competition, McTyer has made it impossible to ignore his presence. Jackson, Kendall Fuller, and, increasingly, Ben St-Juste look to be the starting CB group. Jimmy Moreland, the third year vet looks safe as well. But, there are a number of free agents, and back roster vets, including McTyer, who have been competing for a roster spot or two. Those include Danny Johnson, Cole Luke, Linden Stephens, Jordan Brown, and Daryl Roberts, as well as the converted safety, Troy Apke.

McTyer is getting the attention of his teammates:

He’s making waves in the preseason games:

He’s even getting his own fan-crafted highlight videos:

Most importantly, he’s getting the attention of his head coach:

I’m looking forward to seeing more of McTyer agains the Ravens, but I’m expecting to get to see him in action when it counts this year as well. What do you think?