The punt return/kick return background shows up. To me, I put him in the third-round range. Jim running the Senior Bowl has seen a lot of him, and he's a big fan,” said NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, who considers Reed a third-round prospect. “My buddy Jim Nagy I think is making it his personal campaign to make sure that (Reed) does not get overlooked through this process. And he did so with one eye swollen shut due to an infection. He ran a 4.45 40-yard dash with a 1.57-second 10-yard split at the combine, posting a 4.29 in the 20-yard shuttle while going 33.5 inches in the vertical jump and 10 feet, 1 inch in the broad jump. Reed impressed scouts at the Senior Bowl, then carried it over to the NFL combine in February.

National wide receiver Jayden Reed of Michigan State makes a catch in the end zone ahead of National defensive back Ronnie Hickman of Ohio State during the first day of Senior Bowl week at Hancock Whitney Stadium, Jan. A year earlier, Reed earned first-team All-American honors as an all-purpose player and was a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award as the nation's most versatile player thanks to averaging 23.5 yards on kickoff returns and 19.8 yards on punt returns with a nation-leading two TDs. Plus, the 5-foot-11, 187-pound Reed also stopped returning kickoffs but continued to return punts, averaging 8.8 yards on 13 returns (he did have apparent touchdowns called back against Akron and Wisconsin). His injuries coincided with a dip in production, going from leading MSU with 59 catches for 1,026 yards and 10 touchdowns in 2021 to finishing last season with 55 catches for 636 yards and five scores. That cut forced the senior from Naperville, Illinois, to miss the only game of his college career at Washington the next week. It started with a foot issue during preseason camp in August, then he hurt his hip on a hard fall against Western Michigan in the season opener, followed the next week by a deep laceration on his lower back from sliding into a corner of a bench against Akron.

Reed’s stock has continued to ascend since finishing his injury-laden final season. Michigan State's Jayden Reed, left, celebrates his touchdown with Tyler Hunt during the third quarter against Rutgers on Saturday, Nov.

That's Who I Am by Jayden Brooks