Willie Jake Reed (born September 28, 1967) is a former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player who played for 12 seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) as a wide receiver from

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

to 2002 for the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

and the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. Reed played collegiately at

Grambling State University Grambling State University (GSU, Grambling, or Grambling State) is a public historically black university in Grambling, Louisiana. Grambling State is home of the Eddie G. Robinson Museum and is listed on the Louisiana African American Herita ...

and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1991 NFL Draft, a pick that the Vikings acquired in the

Herschel Walker trade The Herschel Walker trade was the largest player trade in the history of the National Football League (NFL). This deal on October 12, 1989, centered on sending running back Herschel Walker from the Dallas Cowboys to the Minnesota Vikings. Includin ...

. Reed is the father of J. R. Reed, who is a safety for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

NFL career

Reed had four 1,000-yard seasons in his career with a career-high of 85 receptions in

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

. He was second in receiving yards in the NFL with 1,320 in the 1996 season. Reed finished his career with 450 receptions for 6,999 yards and 36

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s. In 1994, Reed combined with fellow receiver

Cris Carter Graduel Christopher Darin Carter (born November 25, 1965) is an American former football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Philadelphia Eagles (1987–1989), the Minnesota Vikings (1990–2001) and the Mia ...

for 207 receptions, which was an NFL record at the time. Carter and Reed combined to become the first teammate duo to amass 1,000 yards each in four consecutive seasons. Reed was NFC Offensive Player of the Month in September 1997 after 34 catches for 521 yards. Reed would also make 12 plays of 50+ yards with Minnesota, second in team history.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reed, Jake 1967 births Living people People from Covington, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football wide receivers Grambling State Tigers football players Minnesota Vikings players New Orleans Saints players