When the Seahawks drafted Nick Reed with a 7th round compensatory pick, expectations were typically low considering the price. Seemingly under sized and facing a tough ask to make the step up, getting a place on the practise squad appeared to be his likely destination.
Four pre-season games later and Reed leads the NFL with 4.5 sacks (ironically, former Seahawk Jason Babin - now with the Eagles - is in second place). The former Oregon Duck found ways to consistently make plays at the college level and he's carried that on into the NFL pre-season.
The question now remains - is he untouchable? A place on the roster appears to be locked in and Reed may even earn a place in Seattle's D-line rotation. Not bad for a 7th round flier. Perhaps we should start looking at the California-born defensive end in a different light? Here's a guy who set a school record for sacks at Oregon (29.5). He registered 51.5 tackles for a loss - also a record. His 13 sacks in 2008 earned All-American honours. Under sized perhaps, but an over achiever.
2 comments:
Rob, interesting that in my 2009 mock draft, the only player I chose correctly was Reed, although I had him with our first 7th round pick rather than the 2nd. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. I hope he is a lock to make the team and doesn't go the way of Forsett last year, who I also thought was a lock based on his pre-season performance.
I took a complete guess that Seattle might take Mike Teel in the 7th in my last Seahawks mock... right guy but wrong round! Having said that, I had Max Unger going to Seattle in round two at one point and I think we all knew that Aaron Curry would be seriously considered if he made it to #4.
You make a valid point comparing Reed to Forsett or any of the other camp/pre-season superstars we've christened in the past. It's not long since Logan Payne was the next big thing catching every ball in practise.
The thing with Reed is, the guy was a standout college player. He was quite simply superb. Forsett was good, but Reed is on a different plateau when it comes to pre-NFL achievement. The reason he wasn't a top pick is simply due to size. Can he make the same kind of plays against much bigger, faster lineman? Will he be overwhelmed in the pro-game?
He's started to show in pre-season that maybe that won't be the big problem we thought it might be. He's making plays, he's getting to the QB. Obviously there's a huge difference between doing it against second string guys in pre-season and the real thing, but he hasn't looked overwhelmed in the slightest. If he had, he might have been lucky to make the practise squad. Instead he's a shoe in seemingly to make the final roster and probably get some snaps on opening kick off.
There's still a long way to go, but he's done more than enough so far to put his name out there. Let's hope he continues to progress, he's a fun guy to watch.
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