Atlanta Falcons 2015 Profiles: Brooks Reed

The Atlanta Falcons went into the 2015 offseason in dire need of pass rushing upgrades, and Thomas Dimitroff and new head coach Dan Quinn delivered by adding Adrian Clayborn, former Seattle Seahawks edge rusher O’Brien Schofield, Brooks Reed, and first-round pick Vic Beasley, who is the best pure pass rusher in this rookie class. Out of all of those players, Reed is the most proven based on his past production, which is why he was signed to a five-year deal worth $22 million with $9 million in guaranteed money.

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Reed has never been known for gaudy sack totals, and he hasn’t cracked more than three sacks in a single season ever since recording six as a rookie. While with the Houston Texans, Reed established himself as an above-average starter as a 3-4 outside linebacker despite his rather modest work as a pass rusher, largely because he’s more of a two-way OLB who can defend the run. So while Whitney Mercilus was busy racking up more pressure with 12 combined sacks in the past two seasons, Reed was busy doing more of the dirty work, especially with Brian Cushing either injured or ineffective.

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Last season, Reed had 41 tackles, two sacks, and a career-high four pass deflections in another quality season for the Texans, and the Falcons are hoping that he can be even better in Quinn’s 4-3 scheme. Bruce Irvin could end up reuniting with Quinn next season, but, until then, Reed is locked in as the Falcons strong-side LB, and it will be especially interesting to see how much effectiveness Quinn gets out of Reed as a pass rusher.

Of course, what makes Irvin so successful in that role for the Seahawks is his all-around ability in addition to his explosive pass rushing, so we’ll see how Reed, who equaled Kansas City Chiefs star Justin Houston in Run Stop% (according to Pro Football Focus), fares out in his first season under Quinn.

As a rookie, Reed had six sacks and had one of the league’s best Run Stop% from the 3-4 outside linebacker position, and he’s still in the prime of his career at 28. It means that the arrow is still pointing upwards for Reed in his new scenery, and he seems like the type of big 6’3″, 254-pound, jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none who can be more productive as a 4-3 strong-side outside linebacker.

The SLB role will be an important one for the Falcons defense, and it looks like they have a very strong pair of veteran OLBs on paper after also signing underrated run-stopping veteran Justin Durant, formerly of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions, and Dallas Cowboys.

While I like Durant, Brooks Reed is the most exciting addition to the Falcons defense because of his potential to make an important impact as a pass rusher. As his stats show in his first four seasons, nobody should expect him to come in and be a difference-maker; Vic Beasley is the only defensive end or outside linebacker on the Falcons who has that type of game-changing talent. But Reed has little “bust” potential as a free agent addition, and, at worst, he’ll be a nice upgrade for the Falcons defense both against the pass and run.

Dec 7, 2014; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Houston Texans outside linebacker Brooks Reed (58) at EverBank Field. Mandatory Credit: Richard Dole-USA TODAY Sports

Reed will be signed with the team until he turns 32, per Spotrac, and his $4.7 million signing bonus will be spread evenly throughout every year of his contract, so he’ll get at least $940,000 in guaranteed money each year.

His salary for 2016 will be guaranteed if he’s still on the roster by the start of the new league year, but the Falcons would have to eat up $3.76 million in dead cap if they cut him at that point in time.

Based on the structure of the contract, it seems like the Atlanta Falcons are high on Reed’s ability to be a solid starter in this league throughout the duration of his contract, and it’s not a bad bet to make.

There are some people who see this as an under-the-radar addition from the Falcons front office and new coaching staff, and I wonder if we’ll see him lined up in different spots on defense, particularly in the future if, say, Irvin signs.

It seems like Quinn likes him, and, even though he’s clearly not a star, you should, too, simply because he plays hard and has awesome hair. Like, Texans fans have to miss those locks already, right?

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