One Year After Career-Altering Injury, D.J. Reed Keeps Flourishing in Seattle Seahawks’ Secondary

RENTON, WA – Just minutes after the Seahawks’ first padded workout of the 2021 season, DK Metcalf jogged to the hash mark to begin one-on-one between receivers and cornerbacks. Across from the towering 6-foot-3 wideout, DJ Reed stepped into press coverage, ready to fight outward, despite being at a six-inch disadvantage.

Outside of the snap, Reed reached into Metcalf’s body briefly and tried to block it when he let go from the outside. After a couple of long, gazelle-like strides, he turned to return to football on a trailer route, but as the phone slapped Reed’s arm, the veteran defender was struggling through the contact to intercept Russell Wilson’s pass.

Fighting a player of Metcalf’s stature, the 5-foot-9 reed indicated that a different route may have brought him to that particular game. But since he held his own on the line of scrimmage, he was able to stay in the field with the All-Pro receiver during the sprint, which gave the opportunity to spin and block the pickaxe.

“It’s very important,” Reed said of winning the line of scrimmage against taller, more athletic receivers. “Like the single rep that I had [against Metcalf], I had a choice. But he was making a comeback, he actually threw my hands away and if he had run a fade he would have had the fade. So in the end, because he obviously broke down, I have a choice, a short route. It’s important because he ran a 4.33 [40-yard dash]so if he pushes you to the limit of scrimmage it will be hard to catch up with him. “

A game like this has become something the Seahawks can rely on from the dependable Reed, whose appearance last season brought much-needed stability to a maligned secondary school. Its success served as a catalyst for a historic turning point in the second half, ultimately changing the prototypical shape the franchise was looking for at cornerback, as evidenced by the decision to design the Oklahoma’s 5-foot-10 standout in April .

The crazy one? Reed’s unexpected rise in Seattle would not have happened without a brave move from General Manager John Schneider.

A year ago today, Reed found himself on the waiver wire after tearing a pectoral muscle tear during off-season training. Due to the nature of the injury, the 49ers didn’t expect him to play at all in 2020, so they believed they could smuggle the former six-round pick into the injured reserve to hide it for the future.

However, Schneider saw the possibility of snatching a talented young player in dire straits from a league competitor and decided to file a waiver. With no other teams standing a chance on him because of his injury, the Seahawks were awarded the rights of Reed and he signed up on the non-soccer injury list at training camp a month later in the hopes that he would recover quickly and make a contribution could do sometime for his new team.

As he had imagined, Reed’s injury was healing faster than expected and Seattle activated him before a home game in 8th To keep his former employer paying quick, he caught quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo in the first quarter of the team’s 37-27 win at Lumen Field away.

Just weeks later, an injury to Tre Flowers put Reed into the outside cornerback, a role he would not be giving up for the remainder of the season. he produced 62 tackles, a pair of interceptions, and seven defended passes. In the past eight weeks, he’s played at a high level in seven starts, producing 50 tackles, one interception and five defended passes as the team finished with a 6-2 record to complete an NFC West title.

Reed overcame the odds by getting over his injury quickly, proving that smaller, shorter armed, and faster corners could indeed be superb in the Seahawks’ full defense. This time around, he didn’t rehabilitate himself, instead spending a lot of time working on his reading step, bail hitting, and other technical parts of his game while also getting stronger in the weight room.

Reed is no longer a newbie and is familiar with the team’s plan. He entered training camp as a favorite two weeks ago to keep the right cornerback job and was one of Seattle’s most prominent standouts in seven training sessions.

“I feel like it’s about consistency. Being out there doing your job, but doing your job at the highest level,” commented Reed. “I think the cornerback spots, especially in this program, are about being smart. Knowing formations, knowing downs and distances, communicating for your safety and your linebackers. It just does the job for everyone easier. It’s all about being disciplined and being consistent. ” . “

Despite his lack of size and length, Reed plays with the chip on his shoulder that coach Pete Carroll desires and ticks every second box the Seahawks covet at cornerback. He is a physical defender who loves making tackles while running, has good ball skills in cover, and has a high soccer IQ.

While Reed made several nice plays during the first five unpadded workouts in Seattle, he took his game to another level in the first two padded sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday, bringing out all three of the above traits. Above all, he generated three pass diversions on Tuesday and an interruption in the end zone against none other than Metcalf led to an interception for rookie Safety Aashari Crosswell on Wednesday.

Reed defends himself against the run and is also happy to punch and wrap multiple ball carriers, although for safety reasons the team does not allow defenders to bring them to the ground during practice.

“Lots of guys look good in underwear. That’s what we say, ”laughed Reed. “You can look quickly, receivers can open up, they could do all this and that. The same thing on the corner. Some corners look good in underwear. When we put pads on, some guys stand out, others disappear. Some guys don’t tackle I want to eviscerate a few guys. So I feel like that’s the rating for putting on pads. “

With just a few days to the mock game in Seattle and nine days to the start of the preseason, the team has a fascinating stable on corners fighting for two starting spots that will be vacated by the departures of Shaquill Griffin and Quinton Dunbar. As one of the few corners to come back from last year’s roster, Reed so far has faced Tre Flowers, Brown and Damarious Randall.

On the flip side, Ahkello Witherspoon, who previously played with Reed in San Francisco, appears to be the front runner to replace Griffin. But veteran Pierre Desir, whom Reed has praised several times this off-season, has performed well at camp as well and seems right in the mix in terms of playing time.

“I think we have a lot of depth. Desir, he looked good, excelled in some exercises, myself, Tre Brown, Tre Flowers. I feel like we have a lot of depth on the corner. We’ll see how it’s done. The main thing is to stay healthy, because that’s the main thing for any position group. I have the feeling that if we stay healthy, we are good. “

With so many skilled players vying for snapshots, Carroll is unlikely to be too quick to name starters. Preseason games are sure to play a role in decision-making, while injuries are worth monitoring, Reed pointed out.

But the way things stand, if Reed didn’t compete for the Seahawks in Week 1 if he traveled to Indianapolis to compete against the Colts, unless he were injured himself, it would be a huge shock. As one of the brightest stars on the field to date, he has done nothing but cement his standing as a starter and continue his impressive history after being scrapped by the 49ers a year ago.