Penn State cornerback John Reid was drafted by Houston in the fourth round of the NFL Draft Saturday. A three-time honorable-mention All-Big Ten selection, Reid was the 141st overall selection. He was the third Nittany Lion drafted, joining Yetur Gross-Matos and KJ Hamler, who were both selected Friday night in the second round.
At this year's NFL Combine, Reid measured 5-foot-10, 187 pounds. He ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash and had a 36.5-inch vertical jump, 10th-best among linebackers. He was the only cornerback to run the shuttle under four seconds (3.97 seconds) and his 20 reps on the bench press tied him fifth-best overall at his position. He's expected to predominately be a nickel position at the next level.
"As a football player at Penn State this year, he put it all together," said ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. "He had a team-leading eight pass break-ups, showed a real nose for the football. I thought the recovery speed he showed at Penn State translated to the combine when he ran under 4.5, which may have surprised some people.
“His ball skills are good, and I love the savvy he shows — the understanding of the position. He turns at the right time to break up the football. He’ll be adequate in run support. You see the break on the ball, the anticipation, as well. This seaso, for Penn State, you can make a strong argument that he was one of the best defensive players. No question about it. Week in and week out, the consistency he showed was really impressive.”
Read our John Reid NFL Draft Scouting Profile
In a video conference earlier this month, cornerbacks coach Terry Smith explained why Reid will be successful at the next level.
"John Reid has the best feet in the draft of any corner out there. John Reid is smarter than anybody out there. John Reid is going to work extremely hard. He has an engineering degree. Football is important to him. It's how he wants to feed his family," Smith said.
"John Reid is a great cover guy. This year he worked tremendously on improving his tackling. As a junior, he struggled as a tackler and this year, he led our team in missed tackle percentage. So he knows where his weaknesses are and where his strengths are."
Coming out of St. Joseph's Prep in Philadelphia, Reid played in all 13 games his freshman season, including two starts. He started all 14 games during the 2016 Big Ten championship season, but missed the entire 2017 season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament during spring practice. Following a redshirt season, Reid returned to the secondary in 2018 and 2019.
For his career, Reid totaled 126 tackles, 37 pass deflections and seven interceptions. He had just one pick-six in his 51 games played, but it came at a pivotal moment this past season. Down 10-7 to Buffalo at the start of the third quarter, Reid intercepted quarterback Matt Myers on third-down, returning the ball 36 yards to give the Nittany Lions a 14-10 lead. Penn State never looked back, winning 45-13.
Coming out of high school, Reid was a four-star prospect and a member of the Rivals250. Alabama, Michigan, Michigan State and Notre Dame were some of the schools he seriously considered.
*******
• Talk about this article inside The Lions Den
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue-White Illustrated
• Follow us on Twitter: @BWIonRivals, @NateBauerBWI, @RivalsSnyder, @DavidEckert98, @ThomasFrankCarr
• Like us on Facebook
- 1
- 2
- 2
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
