Packers Rookie Jayden Reed Excels on Punt Returns After Pressing Pause

Green Bay Packers rookie Jayden Reed had an explosive debut on Sunday against Chicago that included a long punt return. He described his unique style on Thursday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – With 10 members of the Chicago Bears running full speed downfield to tackle him, Green Bay Packers rookie receiver Jayden Reed caught the punt.

And stood there.

“The pause,” he called it.

Why? In a sport in which 4.5-second times in the 40-yard dash are commonplace, why stand still, if only for a fraction of a second, to catch a ball that travels a little more than 40 yards downfield?

“It’s really just to let everybody get on their blocks and try to bring the punt team in a little bit,” Reed explained after Thursday’s practice. “Pause them, draw them more to me so I can make my decision, whether I hit it vertical, if I hit it around the outside. I just want to freeze the punt team a little bit. That’s really my plan with that. I want to freeze them a little bit to create more space for me.”

Early in the third quarter against the Bears, Reed fielded a 42-yard punt on the right side of the field near the “0” that marks the 20-yard line. Chicago’s Travis Homer, one of the team’s best special teams players, approached from Reed’s left.

“I’ve got to win with speed at that point. Hit the edge,” Reed said.

Jayden Reed: elite punt returner 💨🧀 pic.twitter.com/Fzk7xbDY9n

— RanDynasty (@ran_dynasty) September 11, 2023

When Homer slowed a bit, Reed hit the accelerator, going from 0 to 60 in a horizontal sprint to the left. Reed stiff-armed his way past Homer, then beat Khari Blasingame around the corner.

“You’ve always got to be able to make one guy miss,” he explained. “That’s the main thing. Once I got the edge, I had to make one guy miss, make another guy miss. They did great blocking for me, so I was able to hit the edge.”

Reed jetted up the left sideline, a blend of 4.45 speed and balance letting him race upfield. Thanks to downfield blocks by Kingsley Enagbare and Justin Hollins, Reed produced a 35-yard punt return. Jordan Love turned excellent field position into his third touchdown pass of the day to make it 24-6.

It’s an unorthodox style, to be sure, but, as special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia put it on Thursday, “Different streets for different feets.”

Reed’s success on Sunday wasn’t a surprise feat. At Michigan State in 2021, he was a first-team All-American as an all-purpose player and a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player due in part to his two touchdowns on punt returns.

Packers rookie Jayden Reed takes off on a long punt return against the Bears :: Photo by Jamie Sabau/USA Today Sports Images

What does it take to be a quality punt returner? Equal parts concentration, anticipation and athleticism.

Rule No. 1 is catching the football. Nothing is more important. But how does a returner keep an eye on the coverage unit and an eye on the ball?

“It’s definitely a multitasking job,” Reed said. “My first thing is when the ball’s punted, I try to take a look at the gunners, see if they got off the jam or not. If the jammers jam pretty well, I’ll take my eyes off them and I’ll lock in on the ball. Really, it’s a feel thing. You get a feel of the punt team the closer they get. The more reps you get at it, the easier it gets. It’s a rhythm thing. You’ve got to trust it.”

By feel, Reed doesn’t mean there’s an internal clock. Rather, it’s like that sixth sense that tells you someone from across the room is staring at you. You don’t know how you knew it; you just did.

“It’s so weird. It’s easier said than done,” Reed said.

“If I’m looking that way,” Reed continued while looking to his left, “I can feel you being in my space [to the right]. It’s kind of like that. If someone walks behind you, you can feel them walking behind you sometimes. It’s that kind of feeling. So, looking up [at the ball], you can feel them getting closer and closer.”

Reed’s long punt return highlighted an excellent NFL debut. He had two receptions for 48 yards, including a 30-yarder before halftime to set up a field goal, and three punt returns for 54 yards.

A couple days later, he threw out the first pitch at the Milwaukee Brewers game.

“I threw a foul ball,” Reed said with a smile.

Then, it was back to work to get ready for Sunday’s game at the Atlanta Falcons. With a veteran mentality, Reed wasn’t satisfied. For Reed, there’s no hitting pause on his goal of stardom.

“I’ve got a lot to clean up even with making those big plays,” he said. “Every ball that touches your hands, it should be caught. I definitely think I’ve got a lot to clean up. Obviously, that’s why we’ve got practice. I’m just glad that we came out with a W. I can fix my little things.”

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