Michigan State Football: Top 5 prospects for 2021 NFL Draft
Jayden Reed might be a surprising pick on this list because he’s never played a single snap with Michigan State, but there’s talk that he could be the most talented player on the roster.
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As a freshman with Western Michigan, Reed caught 56 passes for 797 yards and eight touchdowns and was a Freshman All-American. He looked like one of the best young receivers in college football and decided to transfer to Michigan State but sat out in 2019.
With a new coaching staff coming in for the 2020 campaign, Reed has to feel good about the offense undergoing a massive change and a new quarterback — potentially his high school teammate Payton Thorne — taking over under center. He gets to start completely fresh on an offense that will no doubt value its best players and feed hot hands.
Reed is a quick-twitch wide out who can play in the slot or on the outside and he can run some of the best routes on the team. He’s a candidate to reach 1,000 yards, becoming the first receiver to do so since Aaron Burbridge in 2015. He could also be a Big Ten Receiver of the Year candidate.
If he breaks out and surpasses 1,000 yards and proves he can run with the big boys in the Big Ten, it wouldn’t shock me if he went to the NFL after a redshirt sophomore year.