Jordan Reed caught one pass in the preseason, and he was unfortunate enough to take a big hit from Keanu Neal on that play, suffering a concussion. Jay Gruden says he thinks Reed will be ready for Week 1. Maybe, but it won't be on any of my teams.
Reed's concussion history dates back to college, and of course he has lots of other injuries on his resume, as well. Gruden saying he'll be ready for Week 1 just sounds like one of those things a coach might say without really being sure. To me I see a guy who should think strongly about retiring, but of course, it's none of my business.
Anyway, Reed did play 13 games a year ago, and this was his first known concussion since 2016. So maybe it was just bad luck, and he'll recover, and be fine. But seems to be a risky player.
If he stays healthy, there's some reward. Among tight ends who played at least 10 games a year ago, Reed was a top-15 player at his position (standard scoring) on a per-game basis.
| TIGHT ENDS PER GAME, 2018 (10 STARTS) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | St | No | Yds | TD | FPG |
| Travis Kelce, K.C. | 16 | 6.4 | 83.5 | .63 | 12.1 |
| George Kittle, S.F. | 16 | 5.5 | 86.7 | .33 | 10.7 |
| Zach Ertz, Phil. | 16 | 7.3 | 72.7 | .50 | 10.3 |
| Eric Ebron, Ind. | 16 | 4.1 | 46.4 | .88 | 9.9 |
| O.J. Howard, T.B. | 10 | 3.4 | 56.5 | .50 | 8.7 |
| Jared Cook, Oak. | 16 | 4.3 | 56.0 | .38 | 7.9 |
| Evan Engram, NYG | 11 | 4.1 | 55.7 | .30 | 7.4 |
| Rob Gronkowski, N.E. | 13 | 3.6 | 52.5 | .23 | 6.6 |
| Trey Burton, Chi. | 16 | 3.4 | 35.7 | .40 | 5.9 |
| Austin Hooper, Atl. | 16 | 4.4 | 41.3 | .27 | 5.7 |
| Vance McDonald, Pitt. | 15 | 3.3 | 40.7 | .27 | 5.7 |
| David Njoku, Cle. | 16 | 3.5 | 39.9 | .25 | 5.5 |
| Kyle Rudolph, Min. | 16 | 4.0 | 39.6 | .25 | 5.5 |
| Jordan Reed, Was. | 13 | 4.2 | 42.9 | .15 | 5.2 |
| Jimmy Graham, G.B. | 16 | 3.4 | 39.8 | .13 | 4.7 |
| Chris Herndon, NYJ | 16 | 2.4 | 31.4 | .25 | 4.6 |
| Mark Andrews, Balt. | 16 | 2.1 | 34.5 | .19 | 4.6 |
| C.J. Uzomah, Cin. | 16 | 2.7 | 27.4 | .19 | 3.9 |
| Jeff Heuerman, Den. | 11 | 2.8 | 25.5 | .18 | 3.6 |
| Vernon Davis, Was. | 14 | 1.8 | 26.2 | .17 | 3.6 |
| Dallas Goedert, Phil. | 16 | 2.1 | 20.9 | .25 | 3.6 |
| Jonnu Smith, Ten. | 12 | 1.6 | 20.5 | .25 | 3.6 |
| Jesse James, Pitt. | 16 | 1.9 | 26.4 | .13 | 3.4 |
| Gerald Everett, LAR | 16 | 2.1 | 21.0 | .21 | 3.3 |
| Ed Dickson, Sea. | 10 | 1.2 | 15.2 | .30 | 3.3 |
| Benjamin Watson, N.O. | 16 | 2.2 | 25.0 | .13 | 3.3 |
| Antonio Gates, LAC | 16 | 1.8 | 20.8 | .17 | 3.1 |
| Nick Vannett, Sea. | 15 | 1.9 | 17.9 | .20 | 3.0 |
| Jordan Thomas, Hou. | 16 | 1.3 | 13.4 | .25 | 2.8 |
| Ricky Seals-Jones, Ariz. | 15 | 2.3 | 22.9 | .07 | 2.7 |
| Matt LaCosse, Den. | 12 | 2.0 | 20.8 | .08 | 2.6 |
| Tyler Higbee, LAR | 16 | 1.5 | 18.3 | .13 | 2.6 |
| Jason Croom, Buff. | 15 | 1.5 | 17.3 | .13 | 2.5 |
| Ryan Griffin, Hou. | 14 | 1.7 | 21.8 | .00 | 2.2 |
| Levine Toilolo, Det. | 16 | 1.3 | 16.4 | .06 | 2.0 |
| Hayden Hurst, Balt. | 12 | 1.1 | 13.6 | .08 | 1.9 |
| Virgil Green, LAC | 16 | 1.2 | 13.1 | .06 | 1.7 |
| Maxx Williams, Balt. | 13 | 1.2 | 11.6 | .08 | 1.6 |
| Josh Hill, N.O. | 16 | 1.0 | 11.6 | .06 | 1.5 |
| Lance Kendricks, G.B. | 16 | 1.2 | 10.6 | .06 | 1.4 |
| Charles Clay, Buff. | 13 | 1.6 | 14.2 | .00 | 1.4 |
| Jordan Akins, Hou. | 16 | 1.1 | 14.1 | .00 | 1.4 |
| Nick Boyle, Balt. | 16 | 1.4 | 13.3 | .00 | 1.3 |
| Mike Gesicki, Mia. | 16 | 1.4 | 12.6 | .00 | 1.3 |
| Luke Willson, Det. | 14 | .9 | 6.2 | .00 | .6 |
I think if you're going to select Reed, you should make sure you have a viable Week 1 alternative -- perhaps Vernon Davis, who will likely start for Reed. Then maybe you can get by. But I'd rather select somebody with a little less injury risk.
--Andy Richardson