Jaylen Reed

Jaylen MarQuiese Reed (born January 29, 2003) is an American professional football safety for the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Penn State Nittany Lions and was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Early life Reed attended Martin Luther King Jr. High School in Detroit, Michigan. He committed to Penn State University to play college football.

College career As a true freshman at Penn State in 2021, Reed played in eight games and had six tackles. As a sophomore in 2022, he played in all 13 games and had 31 tackles. Reed started all 13 games as a junior in 2023 and finished with 46 tackles, two interceptions and one sack. He returned as a starter his senior year in 2024.

On January 13, 2025, Reed declared for the 2025 NFL draft.

Professional career

Houston Texans Reed was selected by the Houston Texans in the sixth round (187th overall) in the 2025 NFL draft. He began the regular season on the PUP list due to a knee injury. Reed was activated for his NFL debut on October 20, 2025. He made seven appearances (one start) for Houston, recording one fumble recovery and 14 combined tackles. On December 6, Reed was placed on season-ending injured reserve due to a forearm injury suffered in Week 13 against the Indianapolis Colts.

On January 8, 2026, after the Texans clinched the No. 5 seed in the AFC, Reed returned to practice for his team's matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round. Four days later, Reed was activated by the Texans.

New England Patriots On August 24, 2026, Reed was traded to the New England Patriots along with a 2028 seventh-round draft pick from the Houston Texans in exchange for wide receiver Kayshon Boutte.

NFL career statistics

Regular season Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD 2025 HOU 7 1 14 9 5 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 0 Career 7 1 14 9 5 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 1 9 0

Postseason Year Team Games Tackles Interceptions Fumbles GP GS Cmb Solo Ast Sck TFL Int Yds Avg Lng TD PD FF FR Yds TD 2025 HOU 2 2 5 1 4 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Career 2 2 5 1 4 0.0 0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0