Eric Reid, the LSU Tigers safety who is being projected as a first-round selection, is reportedly being red-flagged by NFL teams due to “bad shoulders”. According to Milwaukee Journal-Senetial beat writer Bob McGinn, Reid has been removed from some teams first-round draft boards and may fall out of the first-round completely.
“Some teams either removed Reid from consideration or pushed him out of the first round because of his bad shoulders,” McGinn wrote in his updated mock draft.
One way that NFL prospects get sunk in the draft is by being medically red-flagged. This holds true in every draft, as the past summer Ohio State big man Jared Sullinger was projected as a lottery pick but sunk to the bottom of the first round (which is equivalent to the fifth round of the NFL Draft) thanks to being red-flagged. Even this season we’ve seen guys drop thanks to red-flags, like Keenan Allen and Star Lotulelei.
Apparently Reid is being added to that list.
While McGinn says Eric Reid may fall out of the first-round, he still has him mocked going 21st overall to the Cincinnati Bengals, so the issue might not be universal for all teams. But the Bengals are looking at offensive tackles, and should one fall to them or if they trade up, Reid may see the number of teams needing him in the first-round dwindle.
Next to Ried, only Kenny Vaccaro of Texas and Jonathan Cyprien of FIU are drawing first-round consideration as safeties. Matt Elam of Florida is being considered as well, which means if teams think Reid’s shoulders are a problem, it’s not like he’s the only top option at his position.