Houston Texans News: Realistic expectations for the 2020 draft class
2. John Reid, Cornerback- Penn State (Round 4, 141st overall)
5’10, 187 lbs, Age: 23
After picking Justin Reid in 2018 and John Reid in 2020, it seems like the Texans want defenders who can “Reid” the offense well. The Texans chose to move on from the longtime starter Johnathan Joseph in free agency and were able to retain Bradley Roby for a hefty price. However, depth became a major issue and in a pass-happy league, you can’t beat the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens or even the Indianapolis Colts if you don’t have a strong secondary.
The Houston Texans news and rumors going into the draft was they needed improvement in the secondary, and Reid helped fix that need as one of the two fourth round selections.
Reid was a major playmaker at Penn State, as evidenced by his 37 tackles, 2.5 TFLs, one sack, two interceptions, and eight pass breakups as a senior. He was even recruited coming out of high school by then-coach Bill O’Brien, so his familiarity with management definitely helps his case.
The former PSU cornerback has extremely high football IQ and is as passionate as they come, but his physical limitations bring up legitimate questions about his ceiling in the NFL. He is a prototypical size for a nickel corner, but that may be as far as he goes without significant development in coverage.
Reid faces an uphill battle while slotting below Roby, Gareon Conley, and Lonnie Johnson, though he is likely to compete for time with Phillip Gaines and Vernon Hargreaves. The Texan secondary was decimated by injuries and saw bottom-of-the-barrel players receiving significant playing time this past season, so that might be Reid’s best hope to make an early impression.