Should we buy the Brooks Reed hype?
Brooks Reed was signed last offseason by the Falcons and given a five year/22 million dollar contract. His 2015 campaign was incredibly underwhelming as he posted 17 tackles and not much else. Despite battling a groin injury for much of the season, fans and coaches surely had higher expectations of the 29 year old.
One of the more disappointing moments of his first season with Atlanta came during a matchup with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Jameis Winston made something out of nothing – recovering a fumble and taking it 20 yards for a first down and eventually to a game-winning drive. Reed had an easy opportunity at knocking down a stumbling Winston short of the first down marker but made a poor effort and couldn’t help the Falcons defense get off the field.
In the offseason, Reed had been working incredibly hard according to coach Dan Quinn. He has gotten faster, more agile, and still possesses pass rush skills. But how much can we trust him, especially after such a disappointing debut with the club?
Reed typically averaged three to four sacks per season as a member of the Houston Texans. Atlanta used many of its offseason moves to add linebacker and defensive line depth, which should help Reed. If he can continue to work on tackling and get into football shape, he should be able to average similar numbers in 2016.
Brooks Reed has had an entire offseason to recover from his groin injury/surgery, get into football shape, and get more accustomed to Dan Quinn’s defensive scheme. However, actually seeing this hyped up Reed on the field may change a lot of doubters’ minds. He has a long way to go in order to prove worthy of his contract, but we have seen that if Dan Quinn and/or Thomas Dimitroff don’t believe in a player they will take action.
Prediction: 45 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 1 interception.
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