Jayden Reed

Jayden Kevon Reed (born April 28, 2000) is an American football wide receiver and punt returner for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Michigan and Michigan State. He was selected by the Packers in the second round of the 2023 NFL draft.

Early years
Reed grew up in Aurora, Illinois. He initially attended Metea Valley High School, where he played football with Michigan State teammate Payton Thorne. As a junior, he caught 23 passes for 403 yards and four touchdowns. Along with Thorne, he transferred to Naperville Central High School before the beginning of his senior year.

Western Michigan
Reed began his collegiate career at Western Michigan. He was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America after catching 56 passes for 797 yards and eight touchdowns. After the season, Reed announced that he would be leaving the program.

Michigan State
Reed ultimately chose to transfer to Michigan State.

Reed sat out and redshirted his first season at Michigan State due to NCAA transfer rules. As a redshirt sophomore, he started all seven of Michigan State's games in the team's COVID-19-shortened 2020 season and had a team-high 33 receptions for 407 yards and three touchdowns. Reed also returned 16 kickoffs for 329 yards and two punts for 14 yards and was named honorable mention All-Big Ten Conference as a return specialist. He was named the Big Ten Special Teams Player of the Week for Week 4 of his redshirt junior season after returning a punt 62 yards for a touchdown and two kickoffs for 69 yards in a 23–20 overtime win against Nebraska. Reed won the 2021 Peach Bowl MVP after beating Pittsburgh by the score of 31–21.

Professional career
Reed was drafted in the second round, 50th overall, by the Green Bay Packers in the 2023 NFL draft. He signed his rookie contract on July 20, 2023.

Reed made his NFL debut on September 10, 2023, catching two passes for 48 yards and rushing once for −2 yards in a 38–20 win against the Chicago Bears. He scored his first two NFL touchdowns on September 17 in a 25–24 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, on nine- and 10-yard passes from Jordan Love. In week 18, he had four receptions for 112 yards in a win over the Bears. As a rookie, he appeared in 16 games and started 13. He finished with 64 receptions for 793 yards and eight touchdowns.