D.J. Reed has doubled down, saying that the New York Jets reaching the Super Bowl is not so farfetched of an idea.
The cornerbackās comments at organized team activities Wednesday followed the āSuper Bowlā reply he sent to teammate Justin Hardeeās tweet during the 2022 NFL Draft:
Super Bowl https://t.co/p5CO1g4Rql
ā DJ_2Great (@D7_Reed) April 27, 2022
āI don't think it is,ā Reed said when asked if the Jets making a Super Bowl run this season is farfetched. āWhen you think about it, it's kind of dĆ©jĆ vu. My rookie year (in 2018) in [San Francisco] we went 4-12, got some guys in the draft, got some guys in free agency and was in the Super Bowl (LIV), up by 10 in the fourth. Unfortunately, we didn't win. [Patrick] Mahomes did what he did. But we went to the Super Bowl from being 4-12 the year before. So, I don't think it's farfetched, especially with the additions that we brought on.ā
The Jets were 4-13 last season and won two games in 2020. They have had one winning season in the past 11 and have not made the playoffs since reaching the AFC Championship Game in 2010. Plus, they have a brutal schedule to begin the season.
Their odds to win the Super Bowl this season sit at +15000, per FanDuel, which is near the bottom of the NFL.
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Yet there is optimism in Jets camp. And part of that has to do with solid offseason additions, like their signing of Reed to a three-year, $33 million contract.
Though the season opener is more than three months away, Reed has already impressed his new team during voluntary workouts this spring:
āYou could almost hear him grunting on tape, and the volumeās on mute, with how hard he plays and how hard he gets in and out of his breaks and how important every single rep is to him,ā Jets coach Robert Saleh said. āYou see him in meetings, just the laser focus. Thereās no dozing off. Thereās no slouching. He is completely locked in.ā
Reed played for the Seattle Seahawks the past two seasons, racking up four interceptions with 17 passes defensed. He started an NFL career-high 14 games in 2021, playing 96 percent of the defensive snaps.
He is part of a revamped secondary in New York. Cornerback Sauce Gardner was selected in the first round of the draft. Safety Jordan Whitehead, who helped the Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV, was signed as a free agent.
Reed and Whitehead are each 25, likely the start of their prime years. Gardner did not allow a touchdown in college at Cincinnati and is considered as much of a canāt-miss prospect as anyone in the 2022 draft.
They join second-year nickel Michael Carter, who had a solid rookie season. Veteran safety Lamarcus Joyner rounds out the starting secondary after missing all but one game last season because of injury.
Reed said heās impressed with the Jets secondary, which includes Bryce Hall and Brandin Echols, who each started in 2021 at corner and will be valuable reserves this season:
āI think itās special,ā Reed said. āI think we have the guys to do more than just get the job done. I think we can dominate. As far as the cornerback group, thatās who Iām with the most. I feel like itās the best group that Iāve been a part of. Iām excited.ā
Many things need to go right for the Jets in 2022 to back up Reedās comments. But it was just one season ago that the Cincinnati Bengals had awful Super Bowl odds and ended up playing the Los Angeles Rams in the Big Game.
So, why not the New York Jets this season?
Maybe not so farfetched. Or maybe misplaced optimism by Reed.
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