JR #23

Jaylen Reed

Safety · Penn State

A hard-hitting Penn State safety whose injury-shortened rookie season still ended with him starting playoff games for Houston.

Jaylen Reed was a key piece of a Penn State defense that reached the College Football Playoff semifinal before the Texans drafted him in the sixth round in 2025. An ankle injury and a broken forearm limited his rookie season to seven games, but he still finished the year as Houston's starting safety in the postseason.

★ Second-team All-Big Ten at Penn State (2024)

★ 181 career tackles and five interceptions at Penn State

★ Started both Texans playoff games as a rookie in place of an injured M.J. Stewart

Path to the league

Reed started 29 games and appeared in 21 more across his Penn State career, finishing with 181 total tackles, 3.5 sacks and five interceptions. In his final college season in 2024, he started all 16 games, recording 98 tackles, three interceptions, six pass breakups and 2.5 sacks while earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. The Texans drafted him in the sixth round (187th overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Career highlights

At 6-foot and 211 pounds, Reed ran a 4.49-second 40-yard dash at the combine, and his physical, downhill playing style was central to Penn State's run to the 2024 Big Ten championship game and College Football Playoff semifinal.

2025 season recap

Reed's rookie season was interrupted twice by injury. He opened the year on injured reserve with an ankle injury, made his NFL debut in Week 7, and delivered a standout Week 12 start against Buffalo with 12 tackles and a fumble recovery before breaking his forearm the following week and returning to IR. He finished the regular season with 14 tackles and a fumble recovery in seven games, then started both of Houston's playoff games at safety in place of the injured M.J. Stewart.