Few players on the Detroit Lions' defense drew more ire than cornerback D.J. Reed during the first four weeks.
The intended CB1, Reed's secondary had allowed 1,308 passing yards through four weeks. 327 yards per game would've put opposing quarterbacks on pace for 5,559 passing yards this season. Mind you, the NFL record for passing yards in a season was 5,447 set by then-Denver Broncos QB Peyton Manning in his MVP 2013 season. Of course, Manning played 16 games that season, but the point is still made: the Lions' pass defense was historically bad.
Reed was one of the many reasons why. Through four weeks, Reed had given up a passer rating of 153.3, per NextGen Stats. Pro Football Focus had him down for a 141.7 rating. Regardless of any discrepancies, Reed was terrible and the Lions were paying for it.
But something has clicked with Reed. Maybe it was one of the adjustments defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard has made, such as shifting rookie Keith Abney II to safety. Maybe it was Sunday's return of safety Brian Branch. Maybe Reed, who missed six games in 2025 with an injury, is finally back to up speed.
Regardless of the reason, from Week 5 onward, Reed has been one of the best CBs in football.
Per Pride of Detroit's Al Karsten, Reed has a PFF defensive grade of 87.1 across his past two games, which is the fourth-best in that three week span. His cover grade? 86.1. His run defense? 81.4. The same CB Karsten previously noted, via FTN Fantasy, that was dead last in EPA per target allowed in man coverage (2.415) after the loss against the Carolina Panthers.
Those two games has elevated Reed to the 13th highest-graded CB on PFF (72.6), and 20th in coverage (71.0). He's since decreased his passer rating given up to 118.6.
That improvement has been enough to help his defense turn things around.
The defense has been much better the past two games
In the past two games, the defense has given up an average of 19 points per game, which is down from the 31.75 allowed in the first four weeks. Jacoby Brissett and Jordan Love averaged 283 passing yards, down from the previously mentioned 327. Brissett and Love also combined for a completion percentage of 60.9%, down from the 69.7% surrendered in the first four weeks.
From Weeks 2-4, no opposing QB finished with a passer rating below 110.7 (Bryce Young) or a QBR below 77.9 (Geno Smith). However, Brissett finished with a passer rating of 91.8 and a QBR of 32.7, while Love finished with a passer rating of 83.0 and a QBR of 53.3.
Brissett and Love aren't slouches, either. Love is second in the league in passing yards entering Monday Night Football (1,958), and was well-positioned to earn his first 300-yard passing game against the Lions. Both have no shortage of receiving talent around them, especially at tight end, who did continue the position's run at torching the Lions' defense.
READ MORE: Despite win over Packers, Lions still need to work out the kinks on offense
But the Lions' defense kept both offenses at bay enough for the offense to take care of business, even if the offense did try to give the game to the Packers on Sunday. They're starting to at least enter "bend don't break" territory, which as frustrating as that can be, is still a big step up from "break and break even more" from before.
The Lions' defense still has plenty it needs to sort out, and it would still be great to acquire another starting-caliber CB at the trade deadline, but Reed's play the past two games has been a huge relief for a CB unit that desperately needed someone to step up on the outside.
And with safety Kerby Joseph maybe, possibly, returning this season, the pieces are starting to fall in place for the Lions' secondary to have a huge second half. If they do, Reed will be one of the guys leading the way.
Add us as a preferred source on Google