D.j. Reed Is Suddenly One Of The Most Important Lions Players Of 2026

In the wake of Terrion Arnold’s recent departure from the team, the Detroit Lions are in need of at least two cornerbacks to step up in 2026.

D.J. Reed was signed to be one of those players last year. After not being able to come to an agreement with Carlton Davis, the Lions pivoted to Reed in free agency and inked him to a three-year, $48 million deal last offseason. At the time, it was praised as a savvy and frugal move from Brad Holmes, but after an injury-filled season in Detroit, Reed has a ton of pressure on him to live up to expectations in 2026.

Previous season previews: RB Jahmyr Gibbs, RB Sione Vaki, WR Jameson Williams, OT Penei Sewell, EDGE Aidan Hutchinson, DT Levi Onwuzurike

Expectations in 2025

As noted, with the contract that Reed signed and a strong previous three years with the Jets, he was expected to win a starting job and potentially be the team’s top corner. There were certainly some questions as to how he’d play outside of the shadow of Sauce Gardner, but his fit as a physical man-corner and strong run defender made him a pretty clean fit with Detroit.

Actual role in 2025

11 games (11 starts)
Stats: 46 total tackles, 7 passes defended, 2 INTs, 1 FF, 1 FR
PFF defensive grade: 65.2 (47th out of 121 qualifying CBs — minimum 246 snaps)
PFF coverage grade: 61.3 (63rd out of 121)
PFF run defense grade: 78.7 (13th out of 121)
PFF tackling grade: 71.9 (20th out of 121)

After a tough opener, Reed bounced back nicely and started playing some true No. 1 cornerback ball. Unfortunately, in the fourth game of the season, Reed went down with a significant hamstring injury. The initial belief was that the hamstring injury was going to require season-ending surgery.

“It was tough, I’m not going to lie,” Reed said this spring. “Just with the severity of the strain. I thought that I initially needed surgery.”

Thankfully, it didn’t, and Reed was able to return for the final seven games of the season. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite look the same upon his return—something he noticed clearly when watching film this offseason.

“I was watching the tape and watching how I was covering guys before the injury, I was just more stickier, and I had that burst that I’m accustomed to having,” Reed said. “Just with watching later in the season in other games, it was the same thing, same technique, but guys were just running by me. I just didn’t have that extra gear.”

The data certainly seems to agree. His PFF grades were dramatically different from his first four games (including a rough opener against the Packers—38.0 grade) compared to the final seven games of the season.

Admittedly, if we’re going to hang our hat on Reed’s first four games—one of which was a terrible performance—we’re talking about a pretty darn small sample size. Still, it was some outstanding football that matches some of the talents he showed with the Jets.

Outlook for 2026

Obviously, there’s a ton of pressure for Reed to succeed in 2026. Not only do the Lions need him to step up with Arnold now gone, but there’s a big financial pressure for Reed to perform, as well. In 2027, there’s an option bonus worth $13.6 million waiting for him. Live up to expectations, and it’s all his. Struggle, and he’ll likely be playing for a different team in 2027.

Reed’s success will largely be determined by his health. This spring, he admitted he continues to have to put in a lot of prehab work to make sure the soft-tissue injury doesn’t return. But he claims right now that explosiveness he was missing late last season is back after tons of work on the hamstring, including stem cell treatment.

“Yeah, it’s definitely there now,” Reed said.

That’s corroborated by his position coach, Deshea Townsend.

“The way that he’s able to move, you see his speed back, you see him changing direction and all those things,” Townsend said in June. “He’s back to where—kind of what we saw on the Jets film pre-injury. Because before he got hurt during the season, he was playing at a very high level.”

On top of that, Reed is also taking a leadership role within a Lions defensive backs room that is currently in flux. This spring, he invited the entire secondary to his home to watch tape, and days later, the defense had a dominant day of minicamp against the offense.

“He just reached out to the group message,” safety Chuck Clark said. “He was like, ‘Yo, I’m having film (session), a little food at the house. Y’all come over.’ I’ve seen that at different places before, and I respected it.”

A strong, healthy season would go a long ways for Detroit’s defense. The other cornerback position is up in the air, and the safety position will have its struggles as Brian Branch and Kerby Joseph navigate their serious injuries. But if Reed can help lock down one side of the field, it will allow Detroit’s defense to allocate resources to bigger positions of need.

In short, Reed has suddenly become one of the most important Lions players of the 2026 season.