Jaylen Reed gets his chance to prove polarizing Patriots trade was the right call

The New England Patriots loved safety Jaylen Reed enough to send the Houston Texans one of their most productive skill-position players over the past two years in wide receiver Kayshon Boutte.

We’re about to get a much closer look at Mike Vrabel’s vision for the versatile defensive back who was originally drafted in the sixth round by the Texans in 2025.

Craig Woodson was listed among the Patriots’ inactives with a shoulder injury on Sunday morning, leaving the defense without one of its most important starters.

Woodson was spotted by the media during Friday’s practice, providing a glimmer of hope that he would be available for Sunday’s AFC showdown with the Jacksonville Jaguars. But New England elevated Mike Brown from the practice squad on Saturday and will be relying on depth options in the secondary.

The biggest piece could be Reed, who quietly saw his role increase on defense last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers and could be poised for a key role alongside Kevin Byard against the Jaguars’ dynamic offense.

Craig Woodson's injury gives Jaylen Reed his first real chance to show Patriots fans what he can do

The Patriots were impressed by Reed’s ability to come off the bench cold and start for the Texans during last year’s playoff run, including the divisional-round game in Foxboro against the Patriots. 

Reed could now make his first start as a Patriot in Week 3.

“The expectation is that Byard and Reed will start at safety for the Patriots but the question is how New England will match Jacksonville's two-tight-end sets without Woodson,” Patriots reporter Evan Lazar wrote pregame. “The Jaguars run the third-highest rate of two-tight-end sets in the NFL (31.5%), and it's a big part of their under-center-heavy offense.”

Brown will likely fill more of a depth role, Lazar said, with Dell Pettus among the Patriots’ 16 players currently on injured reserve.

Reed played 28 defensive snaps against the Steelers, seeing the majority of his action in clear passing situations. The Patriots moved him around. He saw his most snaps as a deep safety (13), but also played closer to the line of scrimmage as a big nickel or hybrid linebacker. 

The key could be defending the run, which is one of Woodson’s strengths. He had five run-stuffs over the Patriots’ first two games, per Pro Football Focus, and had an 84.1 tackling grade during last week’s dominant defensive performance against the Steelers. 

Patriots fans were left scratching their heads over the team’s decision to trade Boutte. The move was only questioned more after top wideout A.J. Brown went down with an ankle injury in Week 1.

Reed represents an interesting chess piece on defense, though, and fans are about to get their first real look at No. 23 and what he can bring to the team on the field.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow