Jordan Reed: 2014 Fantasy Football Profile and Projection

- Updated: July 26, 2014

If you think it is difficult for rookie wide receivers to make a huge impact (and it is), it's even more difficult for rookie tight ends to do so.

As a rookie last season, Redskins tight end Jordan Reed had his season cut short due to a concussion, which leads to some ongoing durability concerns. When he got his opportunity on the field, however, he was extremely productive.

In the nine games that he played, Reed finished with 45 catches for 499 yards, both of which are franchise records for rookie tight ends, and three touchdowns. If Reed had stayed healthy and maintained that pace over a 16-game season, he would have finished with 80 receptions for 887 yards and five touchdowns.

While that pace may seem more solid than elite, here's a stat to help put those numbers into perspective: only two tight ends in NFL history have finished with at least 887 yards in their rookie seasons. Even though the NFL becoming a passing league, it's something that hasn't happened for more than a decade. Only Mike Ditka (1,076 yards in 1961) and Jeremy Shockey (894 yards in 2002) have reached that level. That's it.

In addition, his pace of 80 receptions would have tied him for third among tight ends with Jordan Cameron and only Jimmy Graham (1,215) and Cameron (917) had more than 887 receiving yards at tight end last season. Five tight ends averaged more yards per game than Reed (55.4) last year: Rob Gronkowski (84.6), Graham (75.9), Cameron (61.1), Vernon Davis (56.7) and Julius Thomas (56.3).

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Following the team's Week 5 bye through Reed's last game played in 2013 (Week 11), only Davis scored more fantasy points among tight ends. On a per-game basis, Reed was lower but he still ranked sixth among tight ends with 8.9 fantasy points per game in standard-scoring formats during that stretch.

Back to the concussion that ended Reed's season, it is disturbing that it took so long for him to receive medical clearance from that concussion, as this quote from Reed illustrates:

“I started to get a little scared after about two months – like, ‘Maybe I’m going to be like this forever,’ or something like that. But it ended up going away.”

Not only are there concerns about the severity of his last concussion, but he has had multiple conussions in his career including a couple of concussions back in his days with the Florida Gators.

If Reed can stay healthy, he's poised for big things in his sophomore campaign.

Sean McVay, the team's new offensive coordinator and former tight ends coach, continues to praise the young tight end: “He’s going be a key player in our offense. He’s an elite route runner for the position, and he still competes with the toughness. He’s got great feet, so he can cover guys up in the run game.”

Based on his current seventh-round ADP (via FFC), Reed is the seventh tight end off the board, on average.

With Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson on the outside, that should further open up the middle of the field for Reed to exploit. If he can stay healthy for the full season, it wouldn't be a surprise if Reed finishes as a top-five (or better) fantasy tight end in 2014.

2014 Fantasy Strength of Schedule

Based on cumulative fantasy points allowed last year of their opponents this year, Reed and the Redskins tight ends have the fifth-most favorable fantasy schedule.

- Resources: Fantasy Football TE Strength of Schedule | 2014 Redskins Team Schedule

2014 Stat Projection: 68 receptions, 806 yards, 7 TDs

- More: 2014 Fantasy Football Profiles | 2014 Fantasy Football Projections

Check out our 2014 fantasy football rankings:

Good luck in your 2014 fantasy football leagues!