Tag: Jayden Reed

Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed produced a crazy, almost unexplainable second season in 2024.

Reed produced over 1,000 total yards and set a new career high in receiving yards, but it’s hard to know what to make of his season on aggregate. The 2023 second-round pick was a dominant and near-elite player during the first nine games but was hardly a factor down the stretch.

The numbers suggest Reed had a few problem areas but an otherwise great season overall.

Considering the following:

— Reed averaged 2.20 yards per route run, ranking 19th among all receivers. Anything above 2.0 yards per route run is considered good.

— Reed averaged 11.4 yards per target, ranking third among all receivers and fourth among all qualifying players.

— Reed dropped 10 passes, per PFF, ranking as the third-most among all players.

— Reed caught 9 of 13 contested catches, good for a success rate of 69.4 percent, ranking seventh among all receivers.

— Packers quarterbacks had passer rating of 137.3 when targeting him, ranking second among all players.

— Reed averaged 6.9 yards after the catch, ranking 12th among all receivers.

— Reed produced three games with 100 or more receiving yards but also four games with 10 or fewer receiving yards.

— Reed all receivers in rushing yards with 163.

— Reed averaged more yards per catch (15.4 compared to 12.4), caught a higher percentage of his targets (73.3 percent compared to 68.1) and had a higher success rate on targets (56.0 percent compared to 51.0) in 2024 compared to 2023.

— As a rookie, Reed turned 75 touches into 912 yards. This year, Reed turned 75 touches into 1,020 yards.

— Reed produced 36 catches for 620 yards (averaging 17.2 yards per catch and 13.2 yards per target) and rushed 11 times for 110 yards (averaging 10.0 yards per rush) during the Packers’ first nine games. Reed produced 19 catches for 237 yards (averaging 12.4 yards per catch and 8.5 yard per target) and rushed nine times for 53 yards over the Packers’ final eight games.

— Reed had five games with a catch of at least 40 yards, and all five came during the first nine games.

How to explain this?

Jayden Reed	First 9	Final 8
Targets	47	28
Catches	36	19
Yards	620	237
TDs	4	3
Yards/catch	17.2	12.5
Yards/target	13.2	8.5
Yards/route	2.63	1.55
Catch%	76.7	67.9
Contested catch	8/10	1/3
Missed tackles forced	9	0
Rushing yards	110	53

In the postseason, Reed caught all four of his targets for 46 yards but played only 36 snaps. He departed with a shoulder injury.

Usage was obviously a big factor. Reed finished with only 75 total targets, down from last season despite playing in every game. Incredibly, he averaged fewer than four targets per game over the final eight games. The Packers were a run-first offense and had at least five different players they wanted to get involved in the passing game, but that might have ended up hurting one of their top weapons.

Was there an injury holding Reed back? Did the Packers make a change philosophically at the bye? Was Reed increasingly frustrated with his role?

It’s unclear if we’ll get those answers. What is clear is the Packers must find a way to get more of Reed’s production from the first half of 2024 when he returns for his third NFL season in 2025.

The 51-yard connection from Malik Willis to Jayden Reed that won Sunday’s back-and-forth showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars was the result of both an in-game adjustment from the coaching staff and the right timing from Willis and Matt LaFleur.

LaFleur said the Packers called the play — which wasn’t in the game plan and wasn’t practiced during the week — when passing game coordinator Jason Vrable spotted something in the way the Jaguars were reacting to a similarly run play. While Willis had to wait until the defense gave him the right look pre-snap on the final drive, he executed the “can” at the right time and caught the Jaguars completely off guard.

“Not only was it a ‘can’ play, but it was a play we didn’t even have up in the game plan,” LaFleur said post-game. “We ran the keeper earlier in the game, and Vrable suggested it, he’s like, ‘Hey, it looks like the play is there.’ So we put it in there on the sidelines. No reps in practice. That’s a big time credit to our guys to go out there and execute it.”

A “can” play is when there are two plays called in the huddle, typically a run and a pass. The quarterback has the opportunity to “can” to the second play based on what he sees pre-snap. The Jaguars finally gave Willis the right look, and he pounced.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CquHpx-Wwfk

The playcall is dressed up like a run, with Tucker Kraft pulling from left to right and Reed inserted tight into the formation to the right side — a look the Packers often use to block up run plays. In fact, the Packers called the same formation earlier on the final drive but stuck with the run based on the defensive look. But this time it wasn’t a run — Willis canned to the pass and then pulled the ball on the play-action fake, and Reed worked through the traffic near the line of scrimmage and sprung wide open on a leak route.

“We ran a play earlier that kind of countered it a little bit and we just seen the opening, so we ran it,” Reed said, via the team’s official site. “I already knew I was gonna be open before the play was even called.”

Jaguars safety Andre Cisco was responsible for covering Reed. It was cleverly designed, with Reed disguised as a blocker within the mass of bodies along the line of scrimmage. By the time Cisco realized what was happening, Reed was at top speed and running behind him, and when he slipped down trying to transition into coverage, the explosive play was on for the Packers.

Willis calmly made the throw, and Reed made the catch near the Jaguars’ 45-yard line and sprinted inside the 20-yard line with just over a minute to go.

Game, set, match. A few plays later, Brandon McManus came on and knocked through a 24-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Packers a second straight walk-off winner and a 30-27 victory.

“That was a pretty cool one, probably one I’ll never forget,” LaFleur said.

Malik Willis to Jayden Reed for 51 yards to set up the game winning FG for the second week in a row by Brandon McManus, who played for the Jaguars last season. pic.twitter.com/6kH0k9TpZX

— Rob Demovsky (@RobDemovsky) October 27, 2024