For Naperville native Reed, rookie season with Packers is latest chance to raise expectations

One of Jayden Reed's first NFL memories came seconds after Super Bowl XLI kicked off in Miami.

Little 6-year-old Jayden – who would become a star wide receiver at Naperville Central and is now a rookie wide receiver for Green Bay – watched with great anticipation as the Bears' Devin Hester grabbed the opening kick off at the 8-yard line.

Fourteen seconds later, Hester had sprinted into the end zone – and a joyous Jayden was literally bouncing off the walls.

“Man, I was just jumping around the house,” Reed said. “My mom and dad were in the living room. I almost got in trouble because my mom was on the phone and I was screaming and yelling.”

Reed, whose Bears fandom waned over the years, had a similar reaction when the Packers made him the 50th overall selection of April's draft.

“It was just goosebumps that my dream really came true,” Reed said after practice Thursday as Green Bay prepared to take on top-seeded San Francisco in the divisional round of the playoffs Saturday. “I really couldn't believe it – all the work I put in and all the people that were there with me along the way. Man. It was surreal.”

The path to success

Reed's rise to a top NFL receiver began in earnest while having a meal with high school wide receivers coach Kofi Hughes. Hughes, who was a wide receiver and two-time captain at Indiana, asked Reed what his freshman year goals would be at Western Michigan University.

Reed's modest list included starting on special teams and maybe scoring a couple of touchdowns.

No, Hughes said. You're selling yourself far too short.

“He said that because he's so humble,” Hughes said. “Not because he doesn't think he can play. He's just that humble where he doesn't put himself up there like that.”

So the pair regrouped and aimed for the sky. The new list said:

∎ Lead the team in catches and yards.

∎ Start every game.

∎ Score 'X' number of touchdowns.

∎ Gain weight and maintain a solid GPA.

Well, guess what? Reed accomplished every goal, leading the Broncos with 56 receptions for 797 yards and 8 touchdowns.

“That was the turning point in his life and his career,” said Hughes, who now runs his own sports performance and personal training company. “'Oh my God – somebody believed in me before I saw it and believed in myself, I believed because I trust that person, then I go out and actually do what I said I was gonna do.'”

After the season Reed called Hughes seeking more advice: Do you think I can play in the Big Ten?

Hughes didn't hesitate: Absolutely.

So Reed transferred to Michigan State where – after sitting out a year – he caught 147 passes for 2,069 yards with 18 touchdowns across three seasons.

Make no mistake: Hughes' influence on Reed might be the single biggest reason why he's had so much success. Hughes was on three NFL rosters – Washington, Houston and the Bears – but a substance abuse problem kept him from reaching his potential. The Bears signed him in August 2014, but he didn't last long.

“Got sent home from the Bears and really had to change my heart and my mind and my life,” said Hughes, who wasn't studying the playbook and was often lost at practice. “Now I get to share a lot of what's not going to get you there with these kids because I've pretty much done everything you shouldn't do.

“Giving that foresight is pretty valuable. That's the position I play now.”

Said Reed: “I can honestly say he's like my brother. He's taught me more things off the field than on the field. Just living right. Little things like that.”

Rock-solid rookie

When his name was called on draft day, Jayden Reed was absolutely floored.

Wait. Green Bay? Really?

“The Packers were the last to show their hand,” Reed said “That's probably one of the last teams I thought would grab me, but I'm highly blessed and grateful they did.”

No doubt about that.

Reed led a young, talented receiving corps with 64 receptions and 793 yards. He also added 119 yards on 11 rushes, meaning he amassed 912 yards on 75 touches while finding the end zone 10 times.

He's surrounded by other wildly talented players like Romeo Doubs (59 catches, 874 yards, 8 TDs), Dontayvion Wicks (39-581-4), Christian Watson (5 TDs in just nine games) and rookie tight end Luke Musgrave.

The Packers hardly looked like a playoff team after a 23-19 loss to Pittsburgh dropped them to 3-6, but after that QB Jordan Love started tearing apart defenses. In the next eight games Love threw for 2,150 yards while slinging 18 TD passes against just 1 interception.

Needing to beat the Bears to qualify for the postseason, Love completed 27 of 32 passes for 316 yards with 2 TDs in a 17-9 victory. Reed had 4 catches for 112 yards.

“When we first started last off-season, he invited all the receivers to California to throw with him,” Reed said of Love. “It shows he cares about us, he cares about the game, he cares about the chemistry that we can build. …

“The repetition just built trust with everybody and I think that's how he's been able to dial it up at the end of the season.”

Last week, the Packers beat the Cowboys 48-32 to become the first No. 7 seed to advance since the NFL expanded the playoffs in 2020. Love was unconscious once again, going 16 for 21 for 272 yards with 3 TDs.

“He's poised in the pocket,” said Reed, who was actually held without a catch but watched Doubs haul in 6 receptions for 151 yards. “He makes quick reads and he's at a high level of confidence right now where he feels he can rip anything and it'll work.”

Now come the Niners, who are 12-5 and boast a hard-hitting, opportunistic defense. They are one of three teams to allow fewer than 300 points.

But while the Packers are 9.5-point underdogs, Hughes believes an upset is more than possible.

“After they lost to the Bucs (on Dec. 17), the players were at our Airbnb (in Green Bay) spending time with my high school kids (he works with), talking about what happened and walking them through the game,” Hughes said. “I mean I was blown away. That doesn't happen. Athletes are so conceited and wrapped up in themselves.

“So to see the complete opposite of that from not only Jayden, but all his peers in the wide receiver room and Jordan Love – you know it's that way all through the building.”

“I'm hoping they win, man. I think they're showing the whole NFL that they're not one to play around.

“And they're living right. I always say: How you live off the field will show up on the field. And I know those dudes are living right. So we'll see what happens.”