© Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
SANTA CLARA — D.J. Reed admits this year has been difficult. In his rookie season, he has been asked to switch from cornerback, his natural position, and learn nickel corner and free safety. And in recent weeks, attrition among the 49ers strong safety spot forced Reed to learn another position.
Last year, in his final season at Kansas State, Reed was a first-team All-Big 12 recipient at cornerback. The 49ers converted the 5-foot-9 Reed because their Cover-3 scheme, drawn from the great Seattle defenses of earlier this decade, prefers big, rangy options out wide.
Being able to play multiple spots makes you more valuable, Reed says, but it can also make you overthink. You second-guess your natural instincts when you haven’t learned and grown in a specific role.
All season long, Reed has told himself to stop thinking so much. That has been a tough line to walk as the 49ers’ fifth-round pick wondered when his playing time would come. Prior to Sunday, the only extended action of Reed’s season came in Week 4, when he filled in for the injured Adrian Colbert at free safety. Reed struggled in his first action there.
Then, on Sunday, Reed replaced starting nickel corner K’Waun Williams, who was ruled out pregame with a knee injury, and looked like a different player. Reed led the 49ers with 12 tackles, three for a loss, and contributed a sack in San Francisco’s 20-14 win over Denver.
“I had a lot of high expectations for myself, coming in as a rookie, that I haven’t achieved,” Reed said postgame. “Getting the opportunity to play this week, I feel like I made the most of it at practice and took advantage of the opportunity.”
Earlier in the week, Richard Sherman and members of the 49ers coaching staff emphasized to Reed the importance of playing fast. That message, combined with his familiarity with nickel corner, propelled his performance. Reed also felt healthier than he had in previous weeks. One week prior, he missed San Francisco’s 43-16 loss at Seattle due to heel and chest injuries.
“They basically said, I am a great player when I am just playing,” Reed said. “When I am thinking, I am not so great.”
Reed showed up more as Sunday’s game progressed. Eleven of his 12 tackles came in the final three quarters. He attacked the backfield, whether on occasional blitzes or in rushing situations, as seen in his run stop below.
Two plays later, Reed showed his closing speed when he wrapped up Broncos receiver DaeSean Hamilton for a loss of one yard.
Denver continued to target Reed, as you’d expect. Yet the biggest gain he allowed was a 14-yarder in the third quarter. The other five completions on Reed yielded just 14 total yards.
Reed nearly changed the game’s course when he popped the ball loose from Broncos quarterback Case Keenum during Denver’s first drive of the second half. But Keenum recovered. If the 49ers had, they would have likely walked away with points, while potentially extending their lead out of Denver’s reach.
“D.J. wants to run, play free, and hit,” Kyle Shanahan said Monday. “He does that very well. It showed up yesterday.”
Reed played 88 percent of the 49ers’ defensive snaps, his most since Week 4. But Shanahan indicated Monday that Reed is likely to take a backseat to Williams should he be healthy enough to return in Week 15.
“K’Waun has played at a very high level this year and done a good job,” Shanahan said. “I wouldn’t say this one game from D.J. Reed, that he fully played better than him. But D.J. did have a very good game. I was very excited to see him do some of the stuff he did as the nickel.
K’Waun has done a hell of a job for us these two years. If K’Waun is healthy, I expect K’Waun to be out there. But if he is not, D.J. hopefully can get better than he did last week. It would be great to go on with some real good competition with those two next year.”
At a minimum, Reed showed Sunday what he is capable of within a role with which he is familiar. Much of the value in the rest of the 49ers’ season lies in developing the young players and supplying them with the reps they need to get acclimated to the NFL.
And for perhaps the first time this season, Reed felt comfortable. His best play followed.
“I have just been waiting on my opportunity, whatever my coaches want me to do,” Williams said. “I played corner in college. I want to be on an island. I was a cover-corner in college. Getting a chance to play nickel this week was fun.”