Seahawks trade for John Reid proves the DJ Reed effect is real

The Seahawks traded for cornerback John Reid on Tuesday. Reid might fit the physical requirements that coach Pete Carroll is now looking for. It used to be, as 12s all know, that Carroll liked bigger, taller corners with at least a 32-inch wingspan. Those days are waning.

And a lot of the reason for this might be the success that D.J. Reed had with the Seahawks after coming over partway through the 2020 season. Reed ended up starting 8 games and had a QBR-allowed of 75.8 which led all Seattle cornerbacks last season.

Reed is small for a classic Carroll corner. He is 5’9″ and 190 pounds. Reid is an inch taller but the same weight. What Seattle is clearly hoping for is that Reid will show the same kind of quickness that Reed has. This means he would have the ability to turn his hips fast and cover receivers off the line and follow them.

Seahawks trade for John Reid who resembles D.J. Reed

Gone are the days, it seems, where Seahawks corners would impose their physicality on the line and throw off the rhythm of receivers but nudging them soon after the play started. Seattle does have bigger corners in Tre Flowers and Ahkello Witherspoon but neither of them seem to be the Richard Sherman-type where they would constantly be in close contact with the receiver.

Plus, NFL offenses have changed and there is more of a reliability on tempo and quick outs. Big corners can still be effective but truly talented big corners are harder to find. It would appear that D.J. Reed’s success last year was a bit of an eye-opener for Pete Carroll. Seattle pass coverage was much better with Reed around and John Reid is a lot more like D.J. Reed than Richard Sherman.

The question, though, is how good is John Reid and why did the Texans give up on him so easily. Reports had Reid being waived if he didn’t get traded. Reid was a rookie last year, though, so how good of a corner he can be is likely not yet known. He can also play special teams and the Seahawks recently lost Ben Burr-Kirven to injury so Reid was likely acquired to help there too.

Reid was extremely limited as far as defensive reps in 2020 as he was targeted just 11 times. Yes, he allowed receptions on 8 of those attempts but this is far too small of a sample-size to judge a player. The point is if D.J. Reed has, for now, changed what Pete Carroll wants in a corner and he sees John Reid has something more like Reed. If he works out like D.J. Reed has so far then Seattle just got a steal from the Texans.