Jayden Reed

Jayden Kevon Reed (born April 28, 2000) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Western Michigan Broncos and the Michigan State Spartans. He was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Early life Reed grew up in Aurora, Illinois. He initially attended Metea Valley High School, where he played basketball. He also played football with Michigan State teammate Payton Thorne. As a junior, he caught 23 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns. Along with Thorne, he transferred to Naperville Central High School before the beginning of his senior year.

College career Western Michigan Reed began his collegiate career at Western Michigan. He was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America after catching 56 passes for 797 yards and eight touchdowns. After the season, Reed announced that he would be leaving the program.

Michigan State Reed ultimately chose to transfer to Michigan State.

Reed sat out and redshirted his first season at Michigan State due to NCAA transfer rules. As a redshirt sophomore, he started all seven of Michigan State's games in the team's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and had a team-high 33 receptions for 407 yards and three touchdowns. Reed also returned 16 kickoffs for 329 yards and two punts for 14 yards and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference as a return specialist. He was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 4 of his redshirt junior season after returning a punt 62 yards for a touchdown and two kickoffs for 69 yards in a 23–20 overtime win against Nebraska. Reed won the 2021 Peach Bowl MVP after beating Pittsburgh by the score of 31–21.

College statistics Year Team GP Receiving Rushing Rec Yds Avg TD Att Yds Avg TD 2018 Western Michigan 12 56 797 14.2 8 1 −9 −9.0 0 2019 Michigan State Ineligible due to NCAA transfer rule 2020 Michigan State 7 33 407 12.3 3 6 17 2.8 0 2021 Michigan State 13 59 1,026 17.4 10 7 34 4.9 1 2022 Michigan State 11 55 636 11.6 5 4 11 2.8 0Career 43 203 2,866 14.1 26 18 53 2.9 1 Source: sports-reference.com

Professional career

Reed was selected in the second round, 50th overall, by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft. He signed his rookie contract on July 20, 2023.

Reed made his NFL debut on September 10, 2023, catching two passes for 48 yards and rushing once for −2 yards in a 38–20 win against the Chicago Bears. He scored his first two NFL touchdowns on September 17 in a 25–24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, on nine- and 10-yard passes from Jordan Love. In week 18, he had four receptions for 112 yards in a win over the Bears. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games and started 13. He finished with 64 receptions for 793 yards and eight touchdowns, while also rushing for 119 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns.

In Week 1 of the 2024 season, against the Eagles, Reed had four receptions for 138 yards and a 70-yard receiving touchdown to go with a 33-yard rushing touchdown in the 34–29 loss.

In Week 2 of the 2025 season, Reed suffered a fractured collarbone during the first quarter of a Thursday Night Football game against the Washington Commanders. The injury happened as Reed was catching a touchdown pass (the touchdown got overturned due to a holding call on right tackle Anthony Belton) while Commanders safety Quan Martin fell on Reed's right shoulder, and was expected to be out for 6–8 weeks. On September 17, Reed underwent surgeries to repair a broken clavicle and a Jones fracture in his left foot. He was activated from injured reserve on December 6, ahead of the team's Week 14 matchup against the Chicago Bears.

On April 24, 2026, the Packers signed Reed to a three-year contract extension worth $50.25 million.

NFL career statistics Legend Bold Career high

Regular season

Postseason