Green Bay Packers receiver Jayden Reed produced a crazy, almost unexplainable second season in 2024.
Reed produced over 1,000 total yards and set a new career high in receiving yards, but it’s hard to know what to make of his season on aggregate. The 2023 second-round pick was a dominant and near-elite player during the first nine games but was hardly a factor down the stretch.
The numbers suggest Reed had a few problem areas but an otherwise great season overall.
Considering the following:
— Reed averaged 2.20 yards per route run, ranking 19th among all receivers. Anything above 2.0 yards per route run is considered good.
— Reed averaged 11.4 yards per target, ranking third among all receivers and fourth among all qualifying players.
— Reed dropped 10 passes, per PFF, ranking as the third-most among all players.
— Reed caught 9 of 13 contested catches, good for a success rate of 69.4 percent, ranking seventh among all receivers.
— Packers quarterbacks had passer rating of 137.3 when targeting him, ranking second among all players.
— Reed averaged 6.9 yards after the catch, ranking 12th among all receivers.
— Reed produced three games with 100 or more receiving yards but also four games with 10 or fewer receiving yards.
— Reed all receivers in rushing yards with 163.
— Reed averaged more yards per catch (15.4 compared to 12.4), caught a higher percentage of his targets (73.3 percent compared to 68.1) and had a higher success rate on targets (56.0 percent compared to 51.0) in 2024 compared to 2023.
— As a rookie, Reed turned 75 touches into 912 yards. This year, Reed turned 75 touches into 1,020 yards.
— Reed produced 36 catches for 620 yards (averaging 17.2 yards per catch and 13.2 yards per target) and rushed 11 times for 110 yards (averaging 10.0 yards per rush) during the Packers’ first nine games. Reed produced 19 catches for 237 yards (averaging 12.4 yards per catch and 8.5 yard per target) and rushed nine times for 53 yards over the Packers’ final eight games.
— Reed had five games with a catch of at least 40 yards, and all five came during the first nine games.
How to explain this?
| Jayden Reed | First 9 | Final 8 |
| Targets | 47 | 28 |
| Catches | 36 | 19 |
| Yards | 620 | 237 |
| TDs | 4 | 3 |
| Yards/catch | 17.2 | 12.5 |
| Yards/target | 13.2 | 8.5 |
| Yards/route | 2.63 | 1.55 |
| Catch% | 76.7 | 67.9 |
| Contested catch | 8/10 | 1/3 |
| Missed tackles forced | 9 | 0 |
| Rushing yards | 110 | 53 |
In the postseason, Reed caught all four of his targets for 46 yards but played only 36 snaps. He departed with a shoulder injury.
Usage was obviously a big factor. Reed finished with only 75 total targets, down from last season despite playing in every game. Incredibly, he averaged fewer than four targets per game over the final eight games. The Packers were a run-first offense and had at least five different players they wanted to get involved in the passing game, but that might have ended up hurting one of their top weapons.
Was there an injury holding Reed back? Did the Packers make a change philosophically at the bye? Was Reed increasingly frustrated with his role?
It’s unclear if we’ll get those answers. What is clear is the Packers must find a way to get more of Reed’s production from the first half of 2024 when he returns for his third NFL season in 2025.