D.J. Reed Sends Bold Warning to NFL About New York Jets’ ‘Historical’ Defense

If you ask cornerback D.J. Reed, the 26-year-old is extremely confident that his team has one of the best defenses in the entire league. In fact, the former Kansas State standout is adamant that they are capable of becoming the top defense in the

“I’m very confident,” Reed said Monday on a Zoom call with reporters, via Rich Cimini of ESON. “I think we have the potential to be the best defense in the NFL. Honestly, I think we can be historical, not just the best defense in the league, but I think we can be a historical defense like the ’85-’86 Bears and the LOB [Seahawks’ Legion of Boom] in 2013. I think we can be that dominant if we just put all the things together.”

Reed took his fearless forecast a step further by comparing New York’s defense to two iconic defensive lines we’ve witnessed in the history of the NFL. As Reed said, he believes New York’s defense in 2023 is going to be “historic.”

Reed also knows that this all comes with some major expectations. In fact, he admits that there’s going to be a ton of pressure on them from the get-go to win it all this year:

“I look at it like we have a small window,” he said. “When you have a team like this, when you have a great defense, when you have a Hall of Fame quarterback, when you have a well-built roster, you have to take advantage of this because these teams don’t happen every year with cap space and guys wanting to get paid, etcetera, etcetera. So, we really have to maximize this opportunity right now.”

DJ Reed’s New York Jets Teammates Backing Up His Claim

D.J. Reed is not alone in his bold claim. C.J. Mosley, who was just voted as the defensive line’s captain for another season, echoed Reed’s thoughts:

“When our brothers do say that, now we have to go out there and put on a show,” said Mosley, adding that he hopes by the end of the year “people are talking about how great the 2023 Jets defense was.

“I definitely feel we have all the right pieces, we have all the right coaches, the right personnel,” he continued. “We feel like we can match up with any type of offense. Those are just words right now. We have to put it to the test.”

Even defensive end John Franklin-Myers is in the same boat. He too talked up what he hopes to achieve with New York Jets’ defense this coming season:

“S**t, why not speak your goals?” said Franklin-Myers. “We’re not afraid to sit here and go out on a limb and say we want to win the Super Bowl, or we want to be the best defense in the NFL.”

Needless to say, the players are putting a lot of pressure on themselves early on. Let’s see if they will be able to live up to the same or if they’ve bitten off more than they can chew. We will all find out soon enough.