Justin Reid’s safety partner has always been a revolving cycle since joining the Houston Texans in 2018. Tyrann Mathieu started opposite of Reid during his rookie season, who was later replaced by Tashaun Gipson the following year. Last season, Reid’s starting partner in the backfield was second-year defensive back Lonnie Johnson, who made a switch from corner to safety.
After converting to strong safety, Johnson found his niche in the NFL, where he finally proved his worth as a second-round pick (No. 54th overall) from 2019.
According to Houston’s new defensive coordinator Lovie Smith, Johnson will reclaim his role as the Texans’ No. 2 safety. The news delighted Reid during his media availability via Zoom on Friday.
“Lonnie is a safety,” Reid said. “The evil twins are what we will have going on in the backfield. It’s good I get to have a partner that I have a little bit of an experiment with now. He really grew into his own last season. He is a physical guy who has the size, talent and ability. Now that he has the experience heading into year two, we are expecting big things from him.”
In comparison to Johnson’s rookie season, Reid said he saw the confidence and understanding of defense grow for the Kentucky Wildcat prodigy. Johnson finished the 2020 season with a career-best 76 tackles (56 solo hits) with a pass coverage grade of 69.1 according to Pro Football Focus.