Houston Texans: Three reasons why Justin Reid should win the DROY
By T.A. Mock
There is not a better tackler in football right now
Justin Reid is, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), the best tackler in all of football. That’s right, his 91.5 tackling grade is the best out of any player in the game. Better than any veteran and most importantly, for the sake of this article, better than any other rookie.
Reid is an able, willing, and confident tackler that absolutely flies to the football. No matter where the ball ends up on the field, you get bet Reid will be near it, if not involved in bringing the ball carrier down.
He is a heat-seeking missile that is quickly becoming a player that every team will have to account for before the snap. Reid has amassed 41 solo tackles to go with at least nine assists (it can be hard to tell sometimes).
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Here’s the kicker, Reid has yet to miss a tackle this season. That gives him a perfect tackling efficiency rating which few players on his snap count can match. That’s simply astounding, especially for a guy that supposedly had tackling concerns entering the draft.
Reid is also the only rookie to play at least 400 snaps to not miss a tackle. In comparison to other rookie safeties who are playing at a high level, Derwin James and Jessie Bates, Reid is an extremely sound tackler as they have missed 8 and 7 tackles respectively.
For me, this is the final piece of evidence that proves that Reid needs to be in the conversation for defensive rookie of the year. Reid needs to win rookie of the year and it’s getting to the point that it would be considered robbery if he doesn’t, especially considering the impact he has made compared to his draft value.
Next. Three players set to make a huge impact off of the bye. dark
Justin Reid has collected over 50 tackles while deflecting five passes and intercepting two. He has also recovered one fumble. Reid has made a tremendous impact for the Houston Texans and is without a doubt, the steal of the NFL draft.