New Lions CB D.J. Reed eager to mentor ‘All-Pro type’ Terrion Arnold

DJ Reed developed a ‘deliberate process’ to his game, and now he’s eager to share it with the Detroit Lions’ young cornerbacks room.

When it comes to things that new Detroit Lions cornerback D.J. Reed is hoping to bring to his new team, the veteran said most things cornerbacks would. He’s eager to cover, loves playing man-to-man, and in true Detroit Lions fashion—he wants to get his nose dirty in the run game, as well.

“Most corners don’t want to tackle. Most corners want to cover. I like to throw myself out there when I have to,” Reed said.

But the 28-year-old cornerback knows that he’s entering a young cornerback room, too. The Lions drafted two cornerbacks last year: 21-year-old Terrion Arnold and 22-year-old Ennis Rakestraw. With seven NFL seasons under his belt, Reed is eager to share some of his wisdom with the room, and he already sees a ton of potential in Arnold.

“I thought Terrion played well (last year),” Reed said. “Obviously, he was handsy, which, that’s something that you can correct, that’s totally fixable. As far as talent, as far as being sticky, it was a reason why he was drafted in the first round. So, he’s going to be very good, in my opinion. I think he’s a Pro Bowl, All-Pro type of guy.”

Reed’s inclination to mentor comes from his own personal experience. He admitted when he was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, he wasn’t in the right mindset to learn from future Hall of Famer Richard Sherman. But when he joined the Seattle Seahawks, he found inspiration from another likely Hall of Famer: Bobby Wagner. Reed tore his pectoral muscle during his first offseason in Seattle, but that allowed him to see how professionals like Wagner operate in the NFL.

“He was just a guy, just a professional, coming in the building at the same time, getting treatment, prehab, after the games,” Reed said. “I used to be really sore after the games. And I’m like, how are you guys getting back so quick?”

The moment was life-changing for Reed. Using some of Wagner’s tactics, he managed to work his way back from the serious injury to start eight games that season and record the first two interceptions of his career. In the next four seasons, he would tally 42 passes defended (14th among all defenders), five interceptions, and 298 tackles (11th among corners)—earning him two major contracts, including the three-year, $48 million contract he signed with the Lions last week.

Now he has his own intense routine that he’ll happily share with his teammates—but not the media.

“I don’t want to give away the sauce, dawg. You tryna get the sauce, man,” Reed joked with a reporter. “But my wife knows, it’s a deliberate process, from nutrition to the way I sleep, and we’re about to have three (kids) under three (years old). So we’re gonna have to have them night nurses and the nannies on deck to make sure I get proper sleep, make sure my wife gets proper sleep. No, sleep is important.

“Like, just doing the little things like hydrating. I play DB so I gotta make sure my feet are right, so wearing yoga toes, just doing little stuff like that, just taking everything serious as well. By that, it’s like, I’m in the weight room, I want to have the greatest lift. When I’m in the treatment. In the film room, I want to have the greatest film session. I want to take the greatest notes. That’s like my mindset. It’s like, maximize everything you do, and when you do that over a certain amount of time, it stacks and stacks and stacks.”

Imparting that wisdom to his teammate will undoubtedly be helpful to Detroit’s young secondary, but Reed’s play on the field will be just as valuable—if not more. And he plans to give the Lions his all.

“I made a promise to myself. I call it ‘Empty The Tank,’” Reed said. “To give my all, and once I’m done–whenever that is, whether it’s after this contract, whether I play longer—when I’m done playing I want to be able to say I gave everything to the game, and that’s something I looked myself in the face and said that’s how I want to operate. So it doesn’t matter if I get paid, doesn’t matter if I’m not paid, I’m going to play the same regardless of whatever the situation is. That’s just how I operate.”