What exactly are the Chiefs getting in Justin Reid?

Earlier this week, the Kansas City Chiefs made a fairly significant statement at the start of free agency that signaled how things were going to go in the secondary. With the signing of Justin Reid, the Chiefs got younger and more athletic and pointed to the end of Tyrann Mathieu’s celebrated era leading the unit.

While much has been said about what Mathieu brought to the team, and what the Chiefs will lose in the process if he signs with another franchise in free agency, quite a bit less has been said about Reid himself. It speaks to the shadow that Mathieu created, but after a few days, it’s time for Chiefs Kingdom to move on and get to know their newest starting safety and potential leader in the secondary—especially after losing Charvarius Ward as well.

Reid comes to the Chiefs after spending his rookie deal with the Houston Texans, the team that drafted him in the third round back in 2018. We reached out to our friend Aarron Van Buren, an expert on all things Texans, to tell us more about Justin Reid‘s skill set, his potential fit in K.C., and why things seemed to decline for him last year.

It seems as if Reid’s play has dropped off in recent years despite him being so young. How would you describe his play in 2021?

Reid’s rookie year was 2018 and for many Texans fans, it was the one where they had the most star-studded roster in their franchise history. Most notably on the defensive side, they still had J.J. Watt, Whitney Mercilus, and Tyrann Mathieu. That was the last year Watt had double-digit sacks. The pressure that was caused up front cannot be disregarded here, as that’s going to make any secondary’s job that much easier. Mathieu also took away the bigger threats, so that let Reid pick up on more plays.

Additionally, 2018 is the only season in which Reid has appeared in every game (16 games back then). He has not been healthy enough since that year to repeat that.

How do you think Reid’s play, for better or worse, has been affected by the Texans’ recent coaching/scheme changes?

That leads me to my next point. Reid lucked out on having Super Bowl champion Romeo Crennel for his first two years as his defensive coordinator. When your teacher is better, you’re often going to do better. Anthony Weaver took over the next year, and the team went 4-12. Of course, much of this had to do with the insane move of trading DeAndre Hopkins. That move was impossible to pass over for the offense, and the defense paid the price by being on the field too long and getting gassed.

David Culley is really to blame for his departure, as Reid had talked about his respect for Lovie Smith and how that might be enough to make him stay. For the Chiefs fans who may not have known or have forgotten, Reid was benched two hours before the game against the New York Jets this year for literally disagreeing with the Texans’ coaching staff on scheme and other football minutiae. Houston wanted to claim this was a “violation of team rules” when it really was a reflection of Culley’s refusal to take feedback from the best player on the team.

For those who missed Reid’s earlier years, how do you reflect back on his rookie campaign?

It was electric. He had a 101-yard pick-six against Washington. It really showed how much promise he really had, and what he could do with the right people around him. There’s only so much a safety can do when it comes to the passing game, and losing the quality of his defensive line and Mathieu really hurt him going forward. (link here for clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdaDsdAroC4)

How would you expect this contract to look in three years for the Chiefs?

I think Kansas City will see a renaissance from Reid. There is the stout defensive line. There is offensive support (similar to how pitchers in baseball get “run support”). Reid’s going to have Steve Spagnuolo as his DC, which is just as good as Crennel. As long as they can solidify some of the cornerbacks to help Reid’s case, then this could go down as one of the better free-agent moves in Chiefs history if they can top it off with another Lombardi.