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Film Room: What Steelers Are Getting in Malik Reed

The Pittsburgh Steelers swapped late-round draft picks to acquire Malik Reed from the Denver Broncos.

Derrick Bell

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There's a new general manager in town but Omar Khan has continued the Pittsburgh Steelers' annual tradition of trading away late round picks weeks before the season begins. 

The latest move was to acquire outside linebacker Malik Reed and a seventh round pick from the Denver Broncos in exchange for a 2023 sixth round pick. Today's article will focus on his background, skill set and fit within the organization moving forward. 

Background

Reed was a three year starter at Nevada prior to his entry to the NFL, tallying 22 career sacks and 38.5 total tackles for loss. After marginal testing numbers, Reed went undrafted in the 2019 NFL Draft before being picked up by the Denver Broncos as an undrafted free agent. Since making the 53 man roster as a rookie, Reed hasn't looked back. He's registered 15 sacks as a pro, something only nine members of the 2019 draft class have accomplished to date.

Reed's breakout season came in 2020 as he accumulated 8 sacks and 37 total pressures according to Sports Info Solutions. Despite back to back productive seasons filling in off the edge while Von Miller and Bradley Chubb dealt with injuries, Denver wasn't satisfied. Several months ago, Denver spent their second round pick on Nik Bonitto, a toolsy edge rusher out of Oklahoma. In today's NFL, rarely do you see second round picks on the bench for long, signaling a bit of a logjam at the position and in turn making Reed available for Pittsburgh's taking.

Skill Set

Reed plays with an incredibly hot motor at all times, something that has been symbolic of Steelers defensive fronts since the beginning of time. A good example came against the Steelers last season in week five. Reed aligns in a wide nine technique and tries to threaten Dan Moore with a long arm move to push the pocket. Moore does a nice job withstanding the rush and altering his rush path by running him up the arc. 

However, Reed doesn't quit on the play and is able to chase does Ben Roethlisberger down from behind. Even better, he's able to strip the football and earn his defense a takeaway while rewarding the offense with a short field. When going through his film, Reed is rarely, if ever, seen loafing away from the ball and is constantly found in pursuit of the ball carrier. Coaches and players in Denver consistently spoke highly of him and this is obviously one of the reasons why, effort like that can never be taken for granted.

Reed's pass rushing toolbox isn't vast by any means as he's a pretty standardized rusher in that he only tries what he's super comfortable with. His preference is to work speed to power, primarily focusing on his inside stab/long arm. When trying to win the corner, Reed is seemingly hyper-aware of when tackles are out of position with their shoulders pointed towards the sideline, thus making them vulnerable to inside counters.

Some of the best examples of this that I found were against the Baltimore Ravens last season against former Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva. Reed made Villanueva respect his speed off of the edge and was able to get his man off balance before shooting his inside arm inside and "stabbing" the shoulder blade to win the reps. Reed showcases keen awareness to avoid getting ran up the arc and taking a quicker, more friendly path to the quarterback registering him a pair of pressures off the edge. 

Reed has a little wiggle to his game and will occasionally flash some quick inside counters. On this rep below against Atlanta, Reed takes two steps upfield before quickly slanting back inside. With the right tackle expecting a speed rush, Reed hits him with a club-swim move that leaves his opponent stuck in the mud right before delivering a menacing hit on Matt Ryan. Some of his best pass rushing reps in the games that I have watched so far have often come when working back to the inside shoulder of opposing tackles. 

Despite being on the lighter and smaller side for the position, Reed's a respectable run defender who understands how to maintain gap integrity and is willing participant in this phase of the game. A good example of his ability to stack and shed came in last years matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers. You can see how physical he is at the point of attack, using violent hands to stack Freiermuth before knocking him back a couple of yards off the line of scrimmage. 

Reed's in control of his opponent throughout the entirety of the rep. As Harris begins to press the hole, Reed peeks inside before shedding the tight end and makes the stop for a minimal gain. While it's true that Freiermuth isn't exactly the most devastating of run blockers, Reed holds his own fairly well on the edge, especially for his size.  

Good run defenders at the position have to be able to maintain outside leverage to contain the edge while also providing support once that force is in tact. Against the Jets last season, they attempted to run wide zone to the field side with Reed taking on a tight end with the assistance of a bump from the left tackle. Reed again does a fantastic job setting the edge, forcing the play back inside towards his help before slicing in to make the run stop on Michael Carter. 

Reed wasn't asked to do a whole lot in coverage beyond the occasional spot drop in zone while in Denver as he rushed the passer on 86% of his snaps. However, Reed is fairly comfortable doing that and he possesses good awareness, as well. His play recognition on this rep against the Jets was particularly impressive and this starts pre-snap as the Jets are in a hole on third and long.

Any time you see that down and distance, particularly when facing a young quarterback, it's imperative to be mindful of screens. New York tries chipping him with the back prior to releasing out as the recipient of the pass but Reed read it like a book. He wasn't fooled by the play design one bit, working back to the ball carrier and eventually corralling him for a loss on the play. This rep was a nice example of Reed's high football IQ. 

Similar to how things were in Denver under Vic Fangio, Reed won't be tasked with too many assignments as a cover man. However, he's fluid and comfortable enough in space to where he won't be completely lost and outmatched when he's asked to drop back in coverage. Against the Chargers, Herbert is working a stick concept to the boundary which essentially serves as something of a rub route with Reed responsible for the tailback. 

Austin Ekeler is not your typical run of the mill back, he's a weapon out of the backfield, a lesson that Steelers fans learned the hard way last season. Still, Reed does a nice job working through contact towards the flat and makes the play for a minimal gain. A nice display of closing speed in space against one of the games premier receiving threats out of the backfield. 

No player is perfect, especially those that are available on the market for a simple exchange of day three pick swaps. The biggest critique of Reed's game is that he's simply lacks that true calling card which prevents him from being viewed and utilized as a long term starter at this level. He's not very bendy off the corner which hurts his ability to win as a speed rusher. 

At only 234 pounds with 31.5 inch arms, he's not the biggest or longest guy either. That shows up on tape as well as he really isn't a player that's capable of bull rushing or running straight through a tackles chest on the way to the quarterback. Take this play against New England for example. The Patriots single him up with a tight end in a pass blocking assignment and Reed just doesn't have the pure strength to overpower him and work his way into the backfield. Usually when edge rushers get the chance to go heads up with a tight end, they start salivating over the opportunity but Reed couldn't cash in here. Unfortunately it's a theme throughout his film to date. 

The Fit

With the release of Genard Avery, it was imperative that Pittsburgh made a move to improve their depth on the edge. It's safe to say that Reed provides depth. Expectations should defintely be tempered, however. Reed's accumulated 13 sacks over the past two seasons but only posted pressure rates of 9.7% in 2020 and 7.7% in 2021 meaning he's cashing in on opportunities frequently but he's not as disruptive on a down to down basis as you'd guess. Those numbers aren't terrible by any means but they are more suggestive of a player who's best suited in limited snaps as a rotational piece.

While I don't think Reed is nearly as talented or athletically gifted as Melvin Ingram, even at 32 years old, I still think the pickup is solid and it's a reasonable return on investment. There is very little risk associated to the deal as Reed's on a rookie scale contract and given his reputation in Denver, there shouldn't be any issues with him accepting a backup role. Unlike last years signing of Ingram, this is a move that could and hopefully will be beneficial for both parties. 

Reed's the clear number three outside linebacker on a defense that expects and requires impactful play from the position while in this scheme. There's a clear drop off in pass rush repertoire but if Pittsburgh loses one of their starters for any amount of time, Reed's red-hot motor and reliability against the run could provide just enough relief. Given the time of year, cost involved and how starved every other team around the league is for pass rushers, this move is about as good as it gets from a depth perspective. 

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Derrick Bell
DERRICK BELL

Derrick Bell is a University of Louisville grad who's covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2019. Prior to AllSteelers, Derrick contributed to Steel City Blitz. 

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