Has Jordan Reed Replaced Fred Davis?

It was clear going into the regular season that Jordan Reed had earned more playing time than I originally thought. He has consistently made tough catches that others on this team seem to drop. However, most assumed that Fred Davis was still the go to receiving threat at tight end. That no longer seems to be the case.

So far this season Davis has only been targeted 6 times for only 3 receptions and 25 yards. Reed on the other hand has had 9 targets, bringing in 8 of them for 56 yards and one touchdown. It's not just the production that is interesting it is also the kind of catches Reed is making. For example, on Reed's touchdown Griffin threw the ball well behind Reed but he was able to adjust and make a really nice catch with his hands away from his body. Davis on the other hand failed to make a catch on a 2nd down play that would have gone for a 1st down. Now, the ball to Davis wasn't a great one and would have been a difficult catch but those are the type of plays that need to be made when your quarterback is struggling. Another aspect that has been extremely impressive is Reed's ability to get open on broken plays. Reed has been aware of the necessity to improvise his route when Griffin leaves the pocket.


Receiving isn't the only thing that Reeds has seemed to excel at either. Davis had some trouble blocking while Reed made at least one key block on Clay Matthews that allowed RGIII to complete a pass to Garçon for a 1st down. Reed has the advantage of being a former quarterback which really allows him to see the game from Griffin's eyes better than your average tight end.

Reed's ability to make the tough catches and blocks has appeared to move him in front of Davis. In the last game, against Green bay, Reed was on the field for 29 snaps or 48% of the Redskins offensive plays. Davis was only on the field for 16 snaps or 26% of the offensive plays. To go even more into the numbers, most of Reed's snaps came in the second half. It will be interesting to see how this works out this week against the Lions.

Fred Davis is also very aware of his decreased playing time and isn't all too happy about it. During a radio interview with LaVar Arrington Davis made it clear that he wants to be on the field more saying
"I don't know if it can change, or what the situation is, but they've got us all mixed in rotation right now, and everybody is getting playing time. I don't feel I'm getting as much as I want to." My first reaction to this comment was that Davis needs to keep his mouth shut. However, at the same time this is a good thing. Davis is in his contract year so he really needs to preform if he wants to get a new deal with the Redskins or any other team. His lack of playing time has only seemed to make him hungrier and more motivated to preform. Let's not forget that despite Reed's success so far Davis used to make tough catches often. He also has shown in the past an ability to break tackles and make some plays in the open field.

An emerging Jordan Reed and a hungry Fred Davis will only benefit this team moving forward. I would really like to see them both on the field at the same time but so far the Redskins haven't really worked them in together too often. Reed has the capability of lining up in the backfield as a fullback which could make for some really interesting packages if Davis is lined up as a tight end at the same time. I am also just going to throw something out there even if I don't see it actually happening at this point. If Reed continues to impress then would it really be necessary for the Redskins to keep Davis around, especially if they are going to continue to limit his snaps. There are a few teams out there that could use a tight end like Davis which could make him a valuable trade piece. It's an unlikely scenario and extremely premature but it seems worth watching. Either way it appears the Redskins have a strong tight end unit that should only continue to improve.