Reed had his first shot at being a full-time starter in 2021, which was the fourth season of his career in the NFL. He made advantage of the opportunity by delivering the Seattle Seahawks with a season of top-notch output, which put him in the company of exceptional players.
The former fifth-round pick of the San Francisco 49ers took advantage of his breakout season by signing a contract with the New York Jets worth $33 million over three years.
During the previous season, it was unusual to see Reed become the target of an opponent’s coverage. There were not many cornerbacks who were defeated less frequently than others.
Over the course of 14 games, Reed participated in coverage for 606 total snaps (all starts). He was targeted 68 times and ended up with 35 receptions, 383 yards, and two touchdowns while also intercepting two passes. He saw 68 passes coming his way.
How many yards did DJ Reed give up?
The most impressive aspect of Reed’s play was the incredible amount of value he contributed thanks to his ability to stop yards on a play-by-play basis. Reed gave up an average of 0.63 yards lost on each cover snap. This put him in sixth place out of 96 cornerbacks who qualified for the position. For the sake of comparison, the average number of tackles per game for cornerbacks was 1.08.