Justin Reid improved in second season with the Houston Texans

Safety Justin Reid took the next step in his development in his second season with the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans 2018 third-round selection, Justin Reid, continues to improve vastly in only his second season in the league. Reid was entering the 2019 season with huge shoes to fill with Kareem Jackson, Tyrann Mathieu, and Andre Hal departing the team this past offseason.

Reid was the only returning safety for the 2019 season alongside teammate A.J. Moore who went undrafted in the same class that Reid was selected by the Texans. However, Reid was the only safety with significant playing time in the Texans defense for at least one season and he was tasked with working with new teammates for a second consecutive year.

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There could have been a potential drop off looming as Reid worked to develop chemistry with Tashaun Gipson, Jahleel Addae, and Mike Adams but the safety group played well for the most part.

There were growing pains at the start but Reid and Gipson settled down to make a good safety tandem for the Texans in their first season together. Reid finished the season playing in 15 regular-season games and every playoff game despite later announcing that he played the majority of the year with a torn labrum in his shoulder that would require surgery in the offseason.

Despite dealing with such a grueling injury, Reid had 78 tackles, five pass deflections, two interceptions, and one fumble recovery in the regular season.

The Texans finished 10-6 and Reid was one of the few bright spots that helped the struggling defense that finished 28th overall in total yardage allowed with 388.3 and 19th with allowing an average of 24.1 points per game.

Reid has been a tough and talented addition to the Texans defense that has played through several injuries and only missed one game through his two seasons in Houston.