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Houston Texans select Jaylen Reed in 6th round of 2025 NFL Draft

FaceProfileby:Thomas Goldkamp•about 19 hours
Jaylen Reed Penn State Football On3
Penn State safety Jaylen Reed and teammate Zakee Wheatley have played nearly every defensive snaps this season for the defense after the injury to KJ Winston. (Photo: Frank Hyatt/BWI)

The Houston Texans have selected Penn State safety Jaylen Reed in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. They took him with the No. 187 overall selection.

Reed made a name for himself with the Nittany Lions over the course of the last four seasons. He really came into his own in the last two years as an every down starter.

Jaylen Reed logged a career-high 98 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble, three interceptions, a defensive touchdown, six passes defended and three pass breakups in 2024. That was a monster season, helping Penn State to the College Football Playoff.

But Reed was productive across his four years. He started his final 29 games for the Nittany Lions, appearing in 50 games total during his career.

In total in his career, Jaylen Reed finished with 181 tackles, 12.5 tackles for a loss, 3.5 sacks, a forced fumble, five interceptions, a defensive touchdown, 12 passes defended and seven pass breakups.

Prior to enrolling at Penn State, Reed was ranked as a four-star prospect and the No. 376 overall recruit in the country in the 2021 class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He also checked in as the No. 30 safety in his class and the No. 9 overall player from the state of Michigan, hailing from Detroit (MI) Martin Luther King.

What NFL Draft analysts are saying about Jaylen Reed

Because there’s so much tape out on Reed, he wasn’t a difficult guy for the scouts to form an opinion of. He’s been an every down starter for Penn State for the last two years.

So what do NFL Draft analysts think of Jaylen Reed? The NFL Network’s Lance Zierlein wrote the following in evaluating Reed as a prospect:

“Reed has NFL size and good overall production as a two-year starter but there are concerns on tape. He plays with natural instincts and route awareness to make plays on the ball but is too inconsistent in finding where he needs to be in coverage.

“He doesn’t run well enough to play over the top or handle certain targets in man coverage. He’s physical enough as a run supporter but needs to improve his approach as an open-field tackler. Reed is best suited to play as a backup safety in downhill zone coverages.”