PROSPECT SUMMARY - JUSTUS REED
After seven seasons of college football, Justus Reed left an eighth year of eligibility on the table. His career began at Florida in 2014. He redshirted in 2015 and missed most of the 2016 season with a knee injury. He then transferred to Youngstown State where he suffered a torn Achilles that forced him to miss the entire 2018 season. He returned in 2019 to record 19 tackles for loss and 13 sacks for the Penguins and then took his talents to Virginia Tech, where he led the team in sacks in 2020. Reed will be 25 as a rookie. The best components of Reed’s game are his rush variety, functional strength, hand usage, and effort. With that said, he’s a modest run defender due to inconsistent processing and he doesn’t have ideal burst and bend as a pass rusher despite being a touch undersized. This makes him a light power rusher that works overtime to grease rush angles and he isn’t a threat to consistently challenge the outside hip of offensive tackles. Reed doesn’t have the athletic profile that translates well to playing in space or serving as a standup outside linebacker. Reed is an older prospect with a limited ceiling and doesn’t have the body type to match his style of play. He has a chance to stick as a rotational end.
Ideal Role: Rotational base end.
Scheme Fit: 4-3.
Written by: Joe Marino
