Welcome to the Chiefs: Justin Reid

With the big loss of All-Pro safety Tyrann Mathieu the Chiefs needed to make a move. Justin Reid was the solution to fill in the large hole at the safety position this offseason.

Image courtesy of the Toro Times

Past Performance

Reid has been a solid consistent player for the Houston Texans ever since he was drafted in 2018. Since coming into the league Reid has accumulated seven interceptions and a 101 yard pick-six in his rookie season. Reid is a reliable tackler who has recently shown the ability to put pressure on the quarterback. The young safety’s past performance actually compares to Mathieu’s stats quite favorably as they both have similar play styles. There is no doubt that Reid has yet to prove himself to be up to the challenge to have a similar career to the honey badger but he is still young and is a promising young player.

Role on the Chiefs

Kansas City brought Reid in for one purpose. He has the very hard job of replacing possibly the best safety in the NFL. The Chiefs will not expect him to live up to Mathieu but will expect him to be a leader in the secondary as that area of the defense is still very young and unexperienced. Reid positioned himself to be put in the starting strong safety role right away with his play in Houston. He will be along side free safety Juan Thornhill who is also out there to prove his worth this season. Reid has proved himself to be a reliable coverage man who can also line up in the box to make plays in the run game. The Chiefs can defiantly use this skill set with the questions at the linebacker position this season.

It will be interesting to see Reid in the Chiefs’ secondary this season. Last season Kansas City was prone to suffer from big passing plays. Even with Mathieu, the Chiefs’ secondary couldn’t keep up with many passing offenses. With three new starters in the Chiefs secondary some of which never had real NFL experience, Reid will have to be a leader from day one in the locker room. He will also have to continue to be a reliable pass coverage safety in a new unfamiliar defense.

Review

The Chiefs did a very good job in a very difficult situation. When a player like Mathieu leaves it usually devastates that position for years until the team can find a solid replacement. The Chiefs were able to do this in one offseason which allowed them to use their draft capital on other needs to improve the team. Reid will be a great addition to the unexperienced Chiefs secondary and will be a key piece throughout the regular and post-season. Time will tell if the new-look Chiefs secondary will pan out but the addition of Reid is a great place to start.

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