Georgia Football: J.R. Reed Possible Pairing with Minnesota Vikings

42 consecutive starts. 199 tackles. 5 INTs. 3 Fumble Recoveries. And two defensive touchdowns. It was quite a career at the University of Georgia for former Tulsa transfer, J.R. Reed. A career that was capped off with a Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist campaign in 2019 and an unfortunate foot injury that kept him out of the Sugar Bowl.

Now, heading into the NFL Draft, despite having made a drastic impact on the Georgia defense for three straight years, Reed isn't exactly atop the draft boards and projections.

A lot of that is due to the fact that NFL evaluators question his ability to play centerfield safety. Reed excelled when he was in the box and is more of the traditional strong safety type of player, but unfortunately with the way the NFL game is played nowadays, that's become increasingly less common to see.

Though there is one team that's shown interest in a possible pairing. The Minnesota Vikings not only met with Reed during the NFL Combine, but he's also recently had a phone interview with the team's director of scouting.

Georgia safety J.R. Reed, son of former #Vikings star receiver Jake Reed, said he has talked to the Vikings during the draft process, including a phone interview with director of scouting Jamaal Stephenson. He also had an interview with the Vikings at the combine.
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) April 9, 2020

Some may remember that J.R.'s father Jake Reed played ten seasons with the Vikings before finishing his career with the New Orleans Saints.

The Vikings seem to be the team that's shown the most interest in Reed, though they aren't the only team. The Atlanta Falcons interviewed three safeties at the NFL Combine: Grant Delpit, Josh Metellus, and J.R. Reed. With the injury bug seeming to constantly bite their secondary, they could use some added depth, especially at Safety. Not to mention, the Falcons are a Cover 3 heavy football team, which means there is usually a safety hanging around near the box. Reed will excel there.

As for where he might get selected, here are his standings in the most recent 7-round mock drafts:

Matt Miller: 6th Round, 200th overall
Draftsite: 5th Round, 153rd overall
CBSSports: 4th Round, 145th overall
DraftWire: 5th, Round 151 Overall

So, the overall consensus is that J.R. Reed is going to be a day 3 draft pick most likely. He will likely go anywhere from the 5th to 7th round which means he's going to have to make an impact on special teams early in his career, which is something he should excel at.

One thing is for certain. When you draft J.R. Reed you are getting a professional. Someone you know you're not going to have to follow around, and someone you know is going to do everything you ask him to do and more. He surprised a lot of people during his college career and defied a lot of odds. I wouldn't doubt J.R. Reed because quite honestly it hasn't paid off for others in the past.

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