With free agency fast approaching, we’re taking a look around the league for players that the Green Bay Packers may be interested in. A couple of weeks ago, we looked at Asante Samuel Jr. Today, we’re looking at another CB, and one that the Packers have already been linked to: former New York Jets CB D.J. Reed.
Let’s start with the high-level stuff.
Name: Dennis Duane “D.J.” Reed
Height: 5’9”
Weight: 188lbs
Drafted: 5th round (142nd overall) in the 2018 draft by the 49ers
Age: 28
2024 PFF Grade: 70.7
Going a little deeper on his PFF Grade, he turned in nice scores in Coverage (70.1) and Run Defense (70.7), while dipping a little in Tackling (64.3).
In terms of alignment, he is an outside cornerback, with 91.3% of his 2024 snaps coming on the outside. It’s worth mentioning that current Packers Defensive Coordinator Jeff Hafley was the Defensive Backs Coach in San Francisco for Reed’s rookie year.
Unlike Asante Samuel Jr. – who lives his life in off coverage – D.J. Reed is much more comfortable up on the line. He may not be the most physical of cornerbacks, but he is a solid press corner. He knows how to use his body to wall off receivers and is quick enough to mirror quick releases off the line. He doesn’t have the greatest long speed, but he has enough to recover pretty well on the times when he is beaten.
He’s a smart player who clearly knows the structure of the defense and his place in it. His tape is littered with plays of him seamlessly passing off receivers and picking up another one. One of my favorites was this play against the Bills. He carries the TE up the seam, but as soon as the TE declares to the middle of the field, Reed passes him off to the safety in the middle of the field and wheels around to help cap the vertical route up the sideline.
In the Dolphins, they’re trying to high-low the boundary with a Smash concept: run a receiver to the flat then run a corner route over the top. Reed initially drives on the flat before flipping and falling under the corner route. He’s looking to bait the QB here: show coverage on the flat, then fall under and pick off a pass on the corner route. The QB doesn’t fall for it, but I really like seeing this from him.
In that same Dolphins game, I loved seeing his hustle. This was the last game of the season, with the Jets sitting on a 4-12 record. Late in the 1st quarter, the speedy De’Von Achane broke loose for a long run. It would have been a touchdown if not for the hustle from Reed, who brought him down a few yards short of the touchdown.
It would have been easy to just let this go, but Reed chases this down. The Dolphins would end up being held out of the end zone and settled for a field goal.
That hustle showed up the week before, as well. Even when trailing 33-8 to the Bills, Reed could be found hustling and battling on every play.
Of course, it’s not all perfect. He’s susceptible to giving up the middle of the field, particularly when he initially widens. He’ll drift a bit too much in his backpedal, making him late to drive. This really only happens in zone, but it shows up on multiple occasions.
There’s also the issue of his size. At 5’9” 188lbs, he’s not the largest of men, and that can show up against the run. To his credit, he is a fighter, looking to get off blocks and crash the edge when he can. But, at his size, he has a tendency to get washed out against outside runs.
So what’s the verdict on Reed?
Listen, the 5’9” scares me a bit, but that’s probably just Ahmad Carroll haunting me. Casting that aside, this feels like a perfect fit. He’s a smart, high-effort player who plays outside cornerback in a way it seems the Packers want to play more of this year.
We already mentioned the Hafley connection, but Reed also played 4+ years under Robert Saleh (2 years in San Francisco, 2+ years in New York), which is the style of defense the Packers would like to play a little more in 2025.
Good player and a great scheme fit to where the Packers want to be. While the age (he’ll turn 29 during the season) and size give me pause, the Packers should absolutely be in on Reed. He’d fit perfectly into what they’re trying to do on defense.
Albums listened to: Hotline TNT – Cartwheel; Jon Brion – Meaningless; Slowdive – Slowdive; Sabrina Carpenter – Short n’ Sweet; Teenage Fanclub – Bandwagonesque; Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral; King Hannah – Big Swimmer