2025 NFL Draft Profile: Jaylen Reed, Penn State

Jaylen Reed 2025 NFL Draft Profile

School: Penn State

Position: Safety

Hometown: Detroit, Michigan

Measures

Height: 6’ 0”

Weight: 211 pounds

Arm Length: 32 3/8 inches

Hand Size: 9 inches

Combine Results

40-yard dash: 4.49 seconds

10-yard Split: 1.51 seconds

Vertical Jump: 33.5 inches

Bench Press: 19 reps

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2025 NFL Draft: Jaylen Reed Scouting Profile

Jaylen Reed comes into the 2025 NFL Draft as a two-year starter from Penn State who plays with good instincts and route awareness, which enables him to make plays on the ball. However, his film shows that he sometimes lacks awareness of where he needs to be in coverage. He has only average speed at his position, making him susceptible to being beaten by faster receivers in man coverage, and he would not be an over-the-top safety at the next level. He is a physical open-field tackler in run support, but he too often takes poor angles to the ball carrier in the open field.

Reed was a four-star recruit out of Martin Luther King High School in Detroit and committed to Penn State, where he steadily climbed the depth chart his first two years. He had a breakout junior season where he started all 13 games and recorded 46 tackles, four tackles for loss, two interceptions, one sack, and one pass breakup. In his senior year, he led Penn State with 98 tackles, six tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, three interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), one forced fumble, and three pass breakups.

Strengths

• Has the body type to play in the box in the NFL.
• Good route anticipation is playing in zone coverage.
• He trusts his eyes and will close on the ball quickly on throws.
• Effective in playing the run and doesn’t shy away from contact.
• Versatility to play multiple spots in the defense.
• Good at slipping away from blockers to find the ball carrier.

Weaknesses

• He will too often misread plays to make costly mistakes.
• His effort has come into question in certain plays when looking at the film.
• Average play speed does not make him an ideal fit for single-high looks.
• Can over-pursue on plays and lacks the agility to recover in the open field.

NFL Comparison

Jaquan Johnson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Potential Team Fits

Buffalo Bills, Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles.

Draft Projection

Day Three (round four or five)

Last Word on Jaylen Reed

Jaylen Reed is a 2025 NFL Draft prospect who has scheme and position flexibility from the safety position. He also has experience playing in all four phases of special teams and brings high energy to the unit. Reed brings a hard-hitting aspect to a secondary ad and the intelligence for diagnosing routes in zone coverage. What will turn Reed into a consistent starter at the next level is focus; first, his effort on the field, as it has been shown on film that he occasionally shows questionable effort, and his propensity to make mental errors at critical times in coverage or in open-field tackling, both of which can cost an NFL defense dearly every single time. If he overcomes those roadblocks, he could be a productive player in the NFL.