In keeping up with the players the Detroit Lions have met with or worked out, one of the most exciting prospects is Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed. He is very much in play for the Lions at the No. 16 overall pick.
Vitals:
- 6’3”
- 307 pounds
- 33 3/8” arms
- 21 40-yard dash
- 77 3-cone drill
- 31” vertical, 104” broad jump
(note–portions of this evaluation are taken from a larger piece I wrote on Alabama prospects at RealGM.com)
From those Combine measurements and results, his athletic profile is indicative of his primary position: nose tackle. In that capacity, Jarran Reed checks the boxes. His explosive metrics are much better than his speed and agility scores.
Reed didn’t post great numbers for the Crimson Tide, netting just 2 sacks and 11.5 TFLs in his final two seasons as a starter. He rotated in and out quite a bit as part of Bama’s deep defensive line group.
While Reed didn’t get much production, he certainly causes a great deal of disruption to opposing offenses with his ability to collapse the interior of the offensive line. He’s ideally built to play anywhere between the 0 and 4i techniques at 6’3” and a very powerful 307 pounds. Lots of guys have similar initial power, but Reed’s ability to sustain the blast beyond the initial combat is downright stunning. He discards blockers regularly and can stream along the line without incident.
The Goldsboro, NC native has good eyes for the ball too. Even though he doesn’t stuff the stat sheet, he definitely knows how to finish when the play is in his vicinity:
There are many plays where Reed forces the run to a different point of attack than desired with his ability to quickly and effectively play the two-gap scheme. He’s an absolute eraser against the run; Alabama coaches charted him with zero missed tackles.
He’s never going to be a sack artist, but the Lions don’t ask the nose to create sacks. Other than a swim move to his left and a grab/yank move, there isn’t much creativity as a pass rusher. He can bull but his hands just are not very active when he does this, it’s all coming from his legs and core strength.
Here is his one sack from 2015, followed by one of his TFLs–both against Louisiana-Monroe:
At 307, Reed is a little lighter than most typical 0-techniques and about 25 pounds lighter than what Haloti Ngata played at in that position in Detroit in 2015. That is a bit of a concern, but the leverage, pad level and explosive power Reed plays with mitigates the worries.
There are more dynamic interior forces in this draft, guys like Andrew Billings and Vernon Butler, but they don’t offer the down-to-down reliability and consistent winning of the interior battles that Reed brings. His ability to 2-gap and versatility to play any of the interior positions would fit great in Detroit.
Reed wound up ranking a bit higher than the 16th overall pick, but there’s a decent chance he will still be on the board because he lacks the eye-popping athleticism. Bob Quinn and the Lions would be wise to consider the big man in the middle of the first round.