Former Michigan State Star Forging Fierce NFL Rivalry?
When it comes to Michigan State Spartans products in the NFL, Green Bay Packers wide receiver Jayden Reed is among the best of the bunch.
Reed is in just his second professional season but has already established himself as arguably the Packers' top target, having caught 44 passes for 693 yards and six touchdowns.
However, the 24-year-old was a bit of a no-show during Green Bay's Week 14 loss to the Detroit Lions, failing to log a catch on just one target on Thursday night.
After the game, Lions wide out Jameson Williams decided to fire a shot at Reed on social media.
jamo 🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/gpLIU9dBYf
— AMONG US ST BROWN (@That1LionsFan) December 6, 2024
You can see Williams commenting "Did he come?" on the Instagram post, which displayed Reed's numbers for the game.
So, could this be the start of a new rivalry between two of the best receivers in the NFC North?
Remember: earlier in the season, Reed made an appearance on the St. Brown Podcast and said he would be dancing on Ford Field during the Packers' visit.
That certainly didn't happen this time around, but make no mistake: Reed is absolutely a player to watch moving forward, and it's entirely possible that he will see the Lions in Detroit again in the playoffs.
Reed and Williams have actually posted very similar numbers in 2024, as Williams has caught 39 passes for 710 yards and four scores.
Williams is definitely a bit more explosive, but Reed is the surer target, boasting a 74.6 catch percentage compared to 61.9 percent for Williams.
Reed actually began his collegiate career at Western Michigan in 2018 but transferred to Michigan State after just one season.
He began his Spartans tenure in 2020 and put together an impressive run in East Lansing, with his best season coming in 2021 when he hauled in 59 receptions for 1,026 yards and 10 touchdowns.
The Packers selected Reed in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft and enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign, snaring 64 balls for 793 yards while reaching the end zone eight times.
Reed absolutely has the potential to develop into one of the league's best pass-catchers, so we will see if he can take some revenge the next time he makes the trip to the Motor City, which could be as soon as next month.
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Matthew Schmidt is a sportswriter who covers NFL, MLB, NBA and college football and basketball. He has been writing professionally since 2011 and has also worked for Bleacher Report, FanRag Sports, ClutchPoints, NFLAnalysis.net and NBAAnalysis.net. He was born and raised in New Jersey and has a rather eclectic group of favorite teams: the Boston Celtics, New York Giants and Miami Marlins.