Like Owens, Reaves came into the league seven years ago as an undrafted free agent and found his footing in Washington on special teams. He remembers what it was like carving out his place on the defense and recognizes the mental aspect of the game as the toughest obstacle to finding success. Other than learning from those around him, Reaves best advice to Owens is to get out of his own head to let his innate athletic ability shine.
“Man, just slow down, take a deep breath,” Reaves said. “Understanding that football is the same concept at all levels, it’s just spoken differently, and it’s done a little differently, is important, but football is football. You’re a heck of a player; you’re a freak athlete. Let that do the work for you. If you train your mind, your body will follow, so I just tell him that and he’s getting more and more of an understanding. Now he’s just going out there and playing, so I’m excited for him because I’ve seen the growth, and that’s the most important part of it.”
A strong understanding of the cognitive side of football or “the game within the game,” as Reaves puts it, is where Reaves has seen the most improvement in Owens from Year 1 to Year 2.
“His mental aspect, understanding leverages, understanding where offenses are trying to attack you at certain defensive schemes,” Reaves said of Owens’ areas of improvement from his rookie season. “And so that’s the game within the game, right? That’s how you go from an average player to a good player. That’s what makes Bobby [Wagner] great. Bobby plays the game within the game. Von [Miller] plays the game within the game. That’s what makes those guys great for so long. Just continuing to hone that because that’s the biggest part of football.
“People always say it’s physical, but it’s more mental, I always say that. We all got the physical ability to do that, or we wouldn’t be here. But you’ve got to train your mind just as much as you train your body, so he’s doing that now, and so I would say his mental aspect is the thing that’s grown the most.”
Having a strong football intuition is key for Owens in distinguishing himself from the rest of the pack. Owens has already proven himself to be a physical asset last season, and now it’s up to him to demonstrate that his football IQ has caught up to his physical gifts to earn an expanded role in the defense.