Although the sixth-round draft pick from Penn State didn’t get the start, he played the majority of the defensive snaps and led the Texans with a team-high and game-high 11 tackles. He recovered a key fumble forced by safety Calen Bullock during a 23-19 win.
“I was just prepared to go in at any moment,” Reed told KPRC 2.
"That’s something I’ve been prepared to do since a couple weeks ago. Just when my number is called, just go out and show up.”
Reed played 55 snaps on defense, 77 percent of the defensive playing time. He had eight solo tackles on defense and one on special teams.
Perhaps he’ll emerge as a starter opposite Bullock in the wake of M.J. Stewart’s season-ending torn quadriceps tendon.
He played a large role in a key win for the Texans, who improved to 6-5 for their first winning record of the season.
“For sure, we needed that win,” Reed said. “We needed to get over the hump. We were 5-5. We needed that win. We’ve got a tough stretch coming up in the next few games, so we needed a win. That was a good win that we needed.”
“Just staying together, we’re one unit,” Reed said. “I know we’re one unit. We all go out together. We play hard. We just got to keep working hard. It’s time to work.”
5 comments
This is so exciting for Jaylen! I’ve been rooting for him ever since I heard the story where I think at the Senior Bowl, he chased down one of the team’s scouts and told him that he really wanted to be a Texan. I hope to see him do well!
Idk if he said it or not, but we needed that win.
All jokes aside, the coaches believe in him to be playing 77% of the defensive snaps for the game. Leading the team in tackles is a strong performance for a rookie safety and hopefully he continues to develop into the role.
Man dude I kept seeing this dude make play after play and I didn’t remember who he was at first. Hell yeah Rook.
Pay our DB coaches whatever they want. Our development as defensive backs have been absurd.
I knew he was gonna be good