Biography

BIOGRAPHY

D.J. Reed was born on November 11, 1996, in Bakersfield, California. He is a free safety in the NFL.

Reed attended Independence High School, where he was named MVP in basketball and football becoming the first in school history to accomplish that. 

Reed committed to Fresno State and redshirted before transferring to Cerritos College. He played in 11 games and had 42 tackles, before again transferring to Kansas State University.  Reed played in all 13 of Kansas State's games as both a cornerback and a return specialist. Defensively, Reed totaled 75 tackles, 16 pass deflections, and two forced fumbles. Offensively, he returned nine kickoffs for 255 yards. After the season, he was named to the 2016 All-Big 12 Conference football team. Heading into the 2017 season, he was named a member of the Chuck Bednarik Award watch list, the Jim Thorpe Award watch list, and the Bronko Nagurski Award watch list. 

Following the 2017 season, Reed earned a spot on the 2017 All-Big 12 Conference football team and had 47 total tackles along with four interceptions for the season. Reed chose to declare for the 2018 NFL Draft and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the 2018 NFL Draft.

He was traded from the 49ers to the Seattle Seahawks in 2020.

On March 17, 2022, Reed signed a three-year, $33 million contract with the New York Jets. On September 12, Reed intercepted a pass during a 24-9 loss to the Baltimore Ravens.