The Detroit Lions value players that are able to rebound quickly from getting beat on a rep or can battle adversity and come out ahead.
Veteran cornerback D.J. Reed caught the attention of Lions head coach Dan Campbell when he evaluated an opponent the Lions were about to face that had previously faced the Jets.
Speaking at the annual league meetings, Campbell shared what he thought about Detroit's newest defensive back.
"He’s got cover ability. He can play man-to-man. Let’s start there,” Campbell said. “But then he’ll bite on the perimeter. Right? He’ll come up. He’ll tackle. He’ll squeeze the edges. And then when you see him in press, man, he challenges. He’s not giving you free release. He’ll mix it up. And then he’ll challenge you at the catch point. Man, he’s feisty. He’s competitive.”
Campbell noted that every defensive back will get beat occasionally, but the effort level to recover and still make a play was impressive.
“One of the best things that I saw -- I told him this. They were playing, it was early in there, crossover tape. He got beat on the play. He actually got beat, all right?” Campbell explained. “And to watch him put his foot in the ground, kind of stumble out from one of the rare times he gets beat, but you get beat at corner. That’s part of this league. He gets beat.
"He puts his foot in the ground, and I mean, he is on an all-out, he doesn’t have time to think about recover. He is just on a b-line to try to angle this guy off," Campbell commented further. "I thought that was one of the most impressive things. Man, this guy doesn’t go in the tank. He’s not worried about what it looks like. He’s just trying to compete and win."
