Ed Reed is one of the best defensive players of the 21st century. Reed is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after an illustrious career, primarily with the great Baltimore Ravens defenses. The safety was one of the best playmakers in NFL history at his position.
So when Lions safety Kerby Joseph does something that no player aside for Ed Reed has done in the last few decades, it’s notable. And that’s what Joseph did when he picked off Dak Prescott in Detroit’s Week 6 win in Dallas.
The interception was Joseph’s fourth on the season, matching the total No. 31 picked off in each of his first two seasons. That put him in the rarefied air.
From the Lions postgame press release,
He’s the NFL’s first safety to record at least four interceptions in each of the first three seasons of a player’s career since S Ed Reed in 2002-04.
Reed picked off a total of 21 passes in his first three years, so Joseph still has a way to go to match Reed’s total accomplishment. The Lions safety is off to a very good start in taking the ball away–better than any safety since Reed over 20 years ago.