The Pittsburgh Steelers will reportedly host Michigan State WR Jayden Reed for a pre-draft visit. That news comes via The Draft Network’s Justin Melo, who tweeted the news a short time ago.
Reed is an excellent fit for the Steelers. With inside/outside versatility, he’s a tough and physical blocker who also offers return value. After spending 2018 at Western Michigan, he transferred to Michigan State where he reunited with his high school quarterback Payton Thorne.
Over his three-year Spartans career, Reed caught 147 passes for over 2,000 yards and had 19 offensive touchdowns, 18 receiving and one rushing. He was also a threat as a punt returner with two career scores at Michigan State and a third at Western Michigan. He also saw action as a kick returner though he held a middling 20.0 career average with zero touchdowns.
His 2022 stats were dipped and Reed wasn’t used as much vertically, seeing his yards fall from over 1,000 in 2021 to 636 last year. His yards per catch saw a similar drop, 17.4 to 11.6 and his touchdowns were halved, 10 to five. But the Spartans offense in general saw a big decline as the team won just five games last year and it’s hard to fault Reed for the drop in production.
In our pre-draft profile, Tyler Wise concluded:
“He’s a complete football player, who’s able to play all over the field, block, and play special teams. Some may be concerned with his decrease in production from 2021 to 2022, but I truly think it was in direct correlation to the year-over-year regression of his quarterback. He may not be able to contribute right away on an NFL offense, but I ultimately think he’ll find an immediate role as a returner and slowly find his way into a role for an offense.”
Wise gave him a third-round grade. Pittsburgh could look to add to its receiver room, specifically in the slot, with the unproven Calvin Austin III the team’s leading option right now. Reed is considered to be a late Day Two selection.
Reed is the third wide receiver to reportedly have a visit with the Steelers, joining Ole Miss’ Jonathan Mingo and Purdue’s Charlie Jones. You can check out our updated Steelers’ pre-draft visit tracker by clicking here.
You can check out our full report on Reed by clicking below.
