It wasn’t too long ago that Eric Reid was considered a first-round lock by experts. Those times surely have passed, especially with the performances of Kenny Vaccaro, D.J. Swearinger and Jonathan Cyprien during the postseason. It now appears that Reid is a second-round prospect.
He is, however, the second-best natural free safety prospect in a draft filled with a ton of talent at that position.
Without getting much further into detail, here is our scouting report on the former Louisiana State safety.
| Ht | Wt | Class | Ranking | Projection |
| 6'2" | 212 | Senior | 23 | Late First, Early Second |
Strengths
Body/Build: At 6’2” and 208 pounds, Reid is your prototypical safety prospect. He will not struggle going up against tight ends or wide receivers between the hashes. In fact, he could physically dominate wide receivers in the bump at the line. In addition, Reid’s upper-body strength will enable him to jar the ball loose at the point of contact down the field. Another big plus for a free safety in coverage.
Physicality: This is a trait usually reserved for strong safety prospects, but Reid presents a major challenge to opposing skill-position players. He isn’t afraid to lay the wood or stick his head in there. He is also able to utilize plus technique when tackling to make sure that the offensive player feels the wrath of the tackle. Offenses will be afraid to go up the middle against Reid once he gains more experience in the NFL.
Run Support: Again, usually reserved for in-the-box safeties; Reid will inch to the line in the run game, doesn’t struggle shedding blocks and will find the ball carrier. He has deceptive speed, which enables him to work well against the run on the outside. He doesn’t miss a whole lot of tackles in this area of his game.
Athleticism: Reid’s pure athleticism enabled him to mask issues in coverage at LSU. While he lacks technique running with receivers, his athleticism more than makes up for it. Reid might get beat off the cut, but his closing speed enables him to regain form before the ball gets to the receiver.
Weaknesses
Technique: Extremely stiff hips in coverage. He will get turned around on a consistent basis and isn’t able to make fluid breaks on the receiver. This caused coverage to break down a great deal against elite competition in the SEC. In reality, Reid needs to fix these issues if he is going to be a day-one starter. Reminds me a lot of Mark Barron, who is strictly a strong safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Aggressiveness: In addition to issues with technique, Reid gets overly aggressive at times. He will go for the big play too often, which can turn out to lead to a big play for the offense. Reid needs to pick and choose when he takes his chances better. Of course this will be fixed with seasoning and experience.
Bottom Line
As I mentioned before, Reid is the second-best pure free safety in the class. What interests me on tape is the fact that he possesses some of the skills that make up a strong safety at the next level. If he can get these issues with technique fixed, Reid has a chance to be a great starting safety in the NFL. If not, the team that selects him might have to think long and hard about moving him to strong safety.