The savvy Lobos safety hopes to defy the odds and get a call from the pros at this year’s NFL Draft.
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2023 NFL Draft Profile: New Mexico S Jerrick Reed II
The savvy Lobos safety hopes to defy the odds and get a call from the pros at this year’s NFL Draft.
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How will his talents play at the next level?
Jerrick Reed II has been selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the 198th overall pick, in the sixth round of the NFL Draft.
New Mexico safety Jerrick Reed II was one of the top players on Danny Gonzales’s Lobo teams over the past few years and he has a very good chance at making an NFL roster and playing on Sundays. The program hasn’t had an athlete selected in the NFL Draft since 2018, though, so can Reed change the school’s recent fortunes?
Measurables (taken from Dane Brugler)
Height – 5′ and 9 3/4″
Weight – 196 pounds
40-yard time – 4.44 seconds
10-yard split time – 1.54 seconds
Arm length – 31″
Hand size – 9 3/8″
Wingspan – 72 5/8″
Vertical jump – 38″
Broad jump – 10′ and 2″ (or 122″)
Shuttle time – 4.31 seconds
3-cone drill time – 7.16 seconds
Bench press – 18 reps
Highlights
Strengths
Reed is a very athletic safety prospect, an outstanding run defender who quickly locates the football and makes plays up the field. He’s developed a reputation as a ballhawk during his college career, being always at the right play at the right time with a nose for the football. He has center-field range, but he is also not afraid to come down and make a tackle in run support and brings physicality to that element of the game.
To that end, it’s worth noting that according to Pro Football Focus, he tied with Fresno State’s Evan Williams for the best run defense grade among Mountain West safeties last year at 82.4 and stood alone with 33 stops.
In 2020, his four interceptions led to his first-team All-Mountain West honors. He followed that up in 2021 with an all-conference honorable mention and led the Lobos with 12 pass breakups last year. This young man is intelligent and has some serious football IQ.
His film demonstrates a capacity to play all over the defensive backfield, too: In his career with the Lobos, Reed played over 1,000 snaps out of the slot and over 500 at free safety. Additionally, his pro day workout showed that he is a tremendous athlete, on par with the top performers at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. His broad jump, for example, would have ranked eighth in this year’s combine class while his vertical jump would have been fifth and his 40-yard time third.
Weaknesses
Reed is undersized when compared to nearly every other safety prospect save for Illinois’s Sydney Brown. While he has a well-proportioned frame, he does lack some length. Because of his lack of size, he can sometimes be blocked from the action or run himself out of plays, as was noted by Pro Football Network’s Tony Pauline.
NFL Comparison
Oddly enough, he has a remarkably similar stature to former UNM safety Glover Quin, who was a fourth-round draft selection back in 2009. Quin played in the NFL for the Houston Texans (2009-2012) and Detroit Lions (2013-2018).
When UNM Lobo Defensive Coordinator Troy Reffitt (who coached both Reed and Quinn) was asked about the similarities: “Both have really good football IQ, spent extra time studying opponents and both exhibit a great love for the game.”
Draft Prediction
Reed is an athletic prospect with speed and range to play on Sundays. Though he needs to improve his strength, he has some potential to make an NFL squad later in the draft process. His athleticism and ball skills make him a potential contributor on special teams and a rotational player on defense. Time will tell where he ends up in the draft and what impact he will make on an NFL team, but both the Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs have expressed interest in Reed.
Based on Reed’s college performance and scouting reports, I think he is likely to be selected in the later rounds of the draft.
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