Jayden Reed Ends up First

 By Eric Goska

Jayden Reed as a rookie.
(photo by Eric Goska)

If its yards from scrimmage you’re after, Jayden Reed is your man.

Reed amassed 171 yards on five offensive plays in Green Bay’s 34-29 loss to the Eagles at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. Never has a Packers end accumulated so many yards from scrimmage in a season opener.

Four of Reed’s gains went for more than 25 yards. All but his initial 9-yard reception in the first quarter brought first downs.

Reed scored twice on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter. He put Green Bay ahead 12-7 after shrugging off linebacker Zack Baun’s attempted tackle as part of a 33-yard run. Five minutes later, he again gave the Packers the lead (19-14) when he eluded safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson to score on a 70-yard reception.

That’s 103 yards on two touchdowns. Only 14 other Packers have put up 100 yards from scrimmage in a regular-season game on touchdown yardage alone.

Reed might have gotten more. A 38-yard Love-to-Reed scoring pass early in the first quarter was called back as both Green Bay and Philadelphia had 12 men on the field.

Whether taking a handoff or snagging a pass, Reed can score. As a rookie last season, he led the Green and Gold with 10 touchdowns, eight through the air and two on the ground.

Friday night was the first time he counted on a run and a pass in the same game.

In coming out of the gate so quickly, Reed joined 14 other Green Bay ends who produced more than 100 yards from scrimmage in a season opener. This exclusive group counts Don Hutson, Bill Howton, James Lofton, Sterling Sharpe and Davante Adams among its members.

A year ago, Reed came away with 46 yards in the season opener in Chicago. He caught two balls for 48 yards and lost two yards on a rushing attempt.

Reed improved as fall turned to winter. He wound up leading the team with 912 yards from scrimmage, 23 more than the 889 gained by runner-up Aaron Jones.

Reed became the first rookie to lead the team in that category since Eddie Lacy in 2013 and the first rookie end to do so since Sterling Sharpe in 1988.

Years ago, running backs tended to prevail when manufacturing yards in the initial game of the season. In 38 of the 52 seasons from 1923 through 1974, a ball carrier paced the team in yards from scrimmage on opening day.

That has since evened out. In 27 of the last 51 seasons, a receiver has taken that honor.

So, how do Reed’s 171 yards stack up when running backs are allowed into the room? His haul ranks third behind Ahman Green’s 197 in 2002 and Green’s 177 in 2001.

Green was the master of coming ready to play on Day 1. He paced the team in scrimmage yards in the opener a team record seven consecutive times (2000-2006).

Reed has shown he’s raring to go as well. With another 1,383 yards (86.44 per game), he can snap Adams’ 2021 team record for most scrimmage yards by an end in a season (1,553).

Ready to Scrimmage
The six Packers ends who gained the most yards from scrimmage in a season-opener.

  Yards   Rec-Rush   Player                          Year           Opponent     Result
     171          33-138         Jayden Reed                  2024           Eagles               GB lost, 29-34
     166          12-154         James Lofton                 1983           Oilers                GB won 41-38
     163        (-2)-165        Bill Howton                    1957           Bears                 GB won, 21-17
     156           0-156          Davante Adams            2020          Vikings              GB won, 43-34
     147           0-147          Don Hutson                   1942           Bears                 GB lost, 28-44
     142           0-142          Randall Cobb                 2018          Bears                 GB won, 24-23