Jarran Reed goes to Seahawks in 2nd round after trade up

The Seattle Seahawks moved up and selected former Alabama defensive tackle Jarran Reed with the No. 49 pick in the NFL Draft. Originally with East Mississippi Community College for two seasons, Reed transferred to the Crimson Tide in 2014. There he anchored a defense that was dominant and one that helped his team win the SEC in 2014 and 2015.

He also helped them win the National Championship over Clemson earlier this year, and in the NFL he’s best projected to be an anchor for the middle of a 3-4 defense. He didn’t light up the stat sheet, but nose tackles typically don’t and he was still productive. He had 6.5 tackles for loss and a sack in 2014, and this past season managed 57 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a sack. He was named a second-team All-SEC player for his efforts.

Notably, Reed ranked fourth on the team in tackles and was the Defensive Player of the Week six times in his senior season. The Crimson Tide allowed an average of just 15.1 points per game, and a lot of that was on Reed’s shoulders. He’s so good at causing disruption, even if he’s not making the tackle or bringing down the quarterback, as he’s completely mauling guards and centers and causing plays to break down.

In his final season at Alabama, Reed was credited as going the whole year without a single missed tackle. That means a running back didn’t slip through his hands; that means a quarterback didn’t get just out of his reach while he fell to the ground. He finished his plays, and they usually ended with someone else hurting.

Reed was part of the very crucial play above in the National Championship. He’s No. 90, the one who eventually makes the tackle on a potential two-point conversion that would have put Clemson within a field goal of tying the game. Not only did Reed make the tackle, but the Clemson quarterback was forced to go wider than he’d have liked because Reed played the positioning so well. He forced him into that situation and then he made the stop.

You don’t often see defensive tackles making those kinds of plays. If Clemson gets that conversion, regardless of what actually happened after that in January, everything could easily have changed and Alabama could have been on the losing end of that championship game. A lot of things could have been different if Reed wasn’t the kind of player he was.

A lack of a visible arsenal of pass-rushing moves and questionable stamina are the biggest knocks against Reed. While he was often creating chaos in the backfield, he was never consistently beating offensive linemen to specifically sack the quarterback. There are also concerns that he will not be a three-down player in some NFL schemes, though that obviously depends on where he lines up. Unquestionably, he’s an impressive player with a ton of upside and the ability to jump right in and cause some damage.