NFL Draft
2/26/25
5 min read
Jaylen Reed 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Penn State Nittany Lions SAF
Height: 6010 (unofficial)
Weight: 212lbs (unofficial)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Nick Cross
Scouting Overview
Penn State Nittany Lions safety Jaylen Reed projects as a potential starter at the pro level. He offers likable physicality, football instincts to handle a multitude of assignments and alignments, and good effort on the field.
His athletic profile in space isn’t the most refined, and transitions can test his ability to attack the football as a coverage option. He made the most of the errant passes that reached him in 2024, but his ball production otherwise is slight, and he appears to have a modest ceiling for game-changing upside.
He’d be best served covering smaller portions of grass as compared to tackling the vast challenges that await serving as the centerpiece of a team’s back end.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| S | Jaylen Reed | Penn State | 4.49 | 1.51 | 33.5 | 19 |
Positives
- Is a physical presence in the secondary capable of jarring hits and tackle challenges
- Versatility in implementation amid play as a high post, box, and slot usage
- Showcases an excellent motor as a pursuit player on the back end
Negatives
- Spatial awareness triggering to the catch point can leave him in a poor position to defend receptions
- Transitional twitch and explosiveness should be considered sufficient in space
- Missed tackle rate floats around 15 percent for his career, and he can be out of control coming to balance at times
Background
Reed is from Detroit, MI, and played high school football for Martin Luther King Jr HS. There, he was a two-sport athlete who lettered in football and track and field as a hurdler. On the gridiron, Reed was a 4-star recruit (247 Sports) who made his commitment to Penn State over schools such as Florida, Georgia, Oregon, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and a slew of other prominent national programs.
As a true freshman at Penn State, Reed played in eight games as a depth player and then played in another 13 games as a sophomore in 2022. He assumed a starting role for the Nittany Lions in 2023 and started all 13 games for the program that season before returning for Penn State’s College Football Playoff run in 2024. Reed started all 16 games for Penn State in 2024, helping keep the Penn State defense running effectively without fellow safety Kevin Winston Jr.
Reed was named Second Team All-Big Ten for his play in 2024.
Tale Of The Tape
Reed is a good embodiment of some of the positional value restrictions that safeties must face. This is a talent who offers plenty to like, but without the key variable of big playmaking with consistency, he poses less of an attractive profile that could, ultimately, cost him some standing in April.
This is a 2-year starter with nearly 30 starts under his belt at Penn State. Reed is dense, physical, long and offers good aggression and sufficient open-space tackling to profile as a potential starter in the league. He fits the model of a sturdy contributor on the back end of a defense, thanks to his football IQ and implementation diversity.
Reed has played more than 1,000 career snaps on the back end and an additional 50/50 split between playing in the box and in the nickel for his career, a testament to his play-processing ability from a variety of alignments and responsibilities.
In coverage, Reed shows sufficient level spacing as a deep assignment player in Cover 3 or split field assignments. He has been asked to invert from low assignments to play deep half coverage and boasts enough athleticism to get back into his assigned position.
That said, he does struggle with transitions in space to offer sharp angles and explosiveness to trigger on action in front of his face. Reed’s depth perception of attacking the football or undercut throws is modest. As a result, his ball production is more of a byproduct of “right place, right time.”
In the run game, there’s good aggression here to trigger and fire downhill into the box. Reed takes better angles pressing into the line of scrimmage than playing in a more three-dimensional plane in coverage, and he can defeat blocks with his aggressiveness and hustle.
Reed is a good wrap-up tackler in the alley and offers the necessary striking ability to cut down bigger ball carriers when they’re pressing toward the sideline. This is where Reed offers his most attractive appeal, be it from depth or the nickel.
Reed can be a bit haphazard at times playing in space and having to rely on his reactive athleticism to burst and take sharp angles to make tackles. He’s more consistent when he’s flowing in the pursuit of the play.
Early in his Penn State career, Reed was a high-volume special teams contributor. His length and tackling should serve him well early in his NFL career if he’s unable to secure a starting role in his first few seasons. He profiles as a core-four special teams candidate.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Reed projects as a developmental safety at the NFL level. He has the physicality, length, and range to be a sufficient level starter in the right environment.
However, his functional athleticism and lack of consistent angles to the football as a coverage player make him a more attractive option for a conservative 2-high shell defense that likes to play with multiple players on the roof to limit explosive plays.
Grade: 73.50/100.00, Fourth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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