Justin Reid has his sights set on the long game. After a successful rookie campaign in 2018, the Texans safety eagerly awaits Year 2.
"I have very big goals for myself in my life," Reid said in an interview with Texans TV. "First and foremost, I'm 100 percent into my football career. I want to be a Hall of Famer. I want to play 12 years, 15 years if I can. I mean, Johnathan Joseph is really setting the standard right now. I want to do what he's doing. I want to play in the league a long time."
Reid, who saw action in all 16 regular season games as well as the playoff loss, becomes even more valuable with the departure of Tyrann Mathieu and Kareem Jackson in free agency. The third-round draft pick tied for the team lead with three interceptions, including the pick that he returned 101 yards for a touchdown in Week 11 at Washington. Even Stanford head coach David Shaw watched Reid whenever he could on Sundays.
"We all watch with a lot of pride, all of our NFL guys and Justin was great this year down in Houston," Shaw said. "He made so many plays and you just see that passion and energy and fire and competitive juice in every single game."
Since the season ended, Reid has kept busy between his rehab from wrist surgery and returning to Stanford to take classes towards a degree in Management Science and Engineering. In one of his classes, Reid has been analyzing 15 years of Stanford player metrics to build regressive models that can predict on-field success. Reid's enthusiasm is unmistakable, as he searches for the keys to longevity in a player's career, perhaps even his.
"You can excel in football and you can excel in school if that's just who you are and that's just the way Justin is," Shaw said. "He just wants to be great in everything he does."
In addition to his three interceptions, Reid also recorded 81 total tackles, 10 passes defensed, one quarterback hit, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries and seven special teams tackles in 16 games (12 starts). He is the first NFL player to record that stat line in a season since the NFL officially tracked each stat.
