Expectations were high for D.J. Reed entering his first season with the Lions. If you think he's played below them through two games, "I absolutely agree," he said.
"I'm just focused on progressing," Reed said Thursday. "The first game, for me, was definitely not up to my standard. I had a P.I. call and I had two mental errors, which for me, that's unacceptable. But it’s a part of the process. I’m playing with new teammates, new coaches. I have to understand and see how my teammates see things because we could see things totally different. That just takes time to adjust."
Reed signed a three-year, $48 million contract with the Lions this offseason to replace Carlton Davis III as the team's top cornerback. He shined throughout training camp. Then the Lions got to Lambeau Field.
In his first snap in coverage of the regular season, Reed was penalized for illegal contact while allowing a 20-yard completion from Jordan Love to Romeo Doubs. He crossed wires with Amik Robertson on third down later in the same drive when both players ran with the same receiver out of a stack, leaving Matthew Golden wide open for an 11-yard catch over the middle. The Packers marched down the field for a touchdown and never looked back.
Reed did deny a deep ball from Love to Jayden Reed on third down late in the third quarter with the sort of sticky coverage that characterized his play in camp, but wound up allowing completions on four of five targets in the Lions' 27-13 loss.
"I feel like against Green Bay I was a little bit all over the place just with getting settled in," said Reed. "I think that just came from communicating with my teammates and not seeing things, because it’s one thing to do it at practice and then it’s one thing to do it in the game when the bullets are firing. How guys process things may be be a little different, so I just felt like we weren’t on the same page."
The secondary was generally more cohesive in the Lions' bounce-back win over the Bears (Caleb Williams had something to do with that), "but I still feel like the touchdowns and the big plays that we did give up in week 2 were things that were totally preventable," said Reed. "Overall, as the season keeps progressing, in the backend I feel like we’re definitely going to be better."
The Bears' first touchdown last week came on a breakdown by the Lions in zone coverage that left Rome Odunze uncovered over the middle on a 28-yard catch-and-run to the end zone. Odunze slipped out of coverage again on the Bears' second touchdown on an apparent miscommunication between Brian Branch and Alex Anzalone.
Reed, for his part, was physical in run support, starting on the Bears' first play from scrimmage when he tackled D'Andre Swift to eliminate what could have been an explosive gain. He finished with three defensive stops, per PFF, which is strong work for a corner, but also allowed three completions on his three targets. Terrion Arnold had a similar day across from Reed.
Both of Detroit's starting corners excelled in coverage in camp, which looked promising against the Lions' talented receiving corps. Neither one has carried that into games yet. Reed has allowed seven completions on eight targets and a passer rating of 108.9, per PFF, Arnold 10 completions on 15 targets and a rating of 128.5.
Reed and Arnold rank 63rd and 64th, respectively, in coverage among 75 qualified corners, per PFF. Alternatively, Arnold is 13th and Reed 15th in run defense.
"I felt like the second game I settled in a little bit more," Reed said. "I made some really good tackles in the open field. As far as coverage, I definitely want to improve on that, and that’s something that I’m emphasizing this week, focusing more so on coverage than everything else.
"It’s in the film room, but it’s also emphasized in practice just with my eye discipline, making sure that I’m keying the right things and also making sure that when I’m in press (coverage), I’m being patient at the line of scrimmage and not just getting out there, and just making it very hard for a wide receiver and a quarterback to complete the ball."
The Lions need Reed and Arnold to show up in a big way on Monday Night Football against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, who lead the NFL in points scored through two games. Zay Flowers is fifth in the league in receiving, while DeAndre Hopkins is still a big-play threat on the other side. And then there's the monster in the backfield.
"You gotta account for Derrick Henry, and then you also gotta account for Lamar Jackson in the run game, so that definitely puts a lot of stress on the defense," said Reed. "It’s a challenge and we want to live up to that challenge. It's a great opportunity for us. Stopping the run is not just on the defensive line. It takes all 11, so we’re all on board with that. And we have to cover as well. They don’t just run the ball. They’ll do play action and take shots, so we have to be ready for that."
Reed last played against Henry in 2021 when Reed was with the Seahawks. Henry, then with the Titans, piled up 182 yards and three touchdowns. For a cornerback to stop him, "teams want to run crunch," said Reed, "so it's just about making sure you have great eye discipline, seeing two block or three block, whoever I’m keying, and then just trying to get there and close the gap as quickly as possible, tracking the near hip, and going there with mean intentions and just wrapping up his legs."
Easier said than done, of course. But no better time than now for the Lions' big offseason acquisition to start earning his keep.
"Monday Night Football is something as a kid you always dreamed of playing," Reed said. "And we’re playing a great team. So I'm looking forward to the challenge and my teammates are as well."