Justin Coleman’s departure this offseason opened up a spot in the Seattle Seahawks’ secondary at the nickelback position.
The team has a handful of options to replace Coleman, which gives coach Pete Carroll a chance to oversee a fun training camp competition this summer.
Among the many options is former Titans corner Kalan Reed, who Seattle re-signed in April after keeping him on the practice squad for the majority of the 2018 season.
After an excellent career at Southern Mississippi, Reed was Mr. Irrelevant in 2016 – getting selected with the final pick of the NFL draft by the Titans. He ended up appearing in seven games for Tennessee across two seasons, earning one tackle and one pass defended.
Reed’s appeal is not in his statistics, however, but rather his intriguing blend of size and speed. Standing at five-foot-eleven and 199 pounds, Reed ran a scorching 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at his pro day, along with a 41.5 inch vertical leap.
Carroll and Seahawks general manager John Schneider have shown that they can find hidden gems at the nickel spot, including Walter Thurmond, Jeremy Lane and of course Coleman. Could Reed be their next prize in the slot?
He’ll have to beat out another seventh-round pick, Akeem King, along with free agent Jamar Taylor and rookie Ugo Amadi – who played a lot of nickel during rookie minicamp.
Winning the job outright will be a tall order, but as of now, that position is wide open. Reed has as good a chance as anyone of starting at the nickel when the Seahawks season kicks off in September.
