Ja’seem Reed becoming a receiver every Panthers quarterback can trust

“Same thing he’s been doing all camp, being consistent, doing a great job of winning, great job of understanding leverage, understanding route timing, and for us, I think someone that we can trust,” echoed Young following Reed’s day in Buffalo.

“We feel like that with all of our guys, but when you go out there, and you just see him continue to put it on film- a good guy off the field and I want him to learn to have those conversations. We all trust him in the room, so it’s no surprise he’s been having the success of that.”

That sort of validation is heady for a guy who spent all of last year toiling on the practice squad. Now, he has multiple quarterbacks singing his praises.

“It feels good, especially because I have the same trust in them and just out there every day at practice,” he said. “It feels great, just letting it come to me and just playing my game and trusting.”

Reed’s touchdown against the Bills marked the first opponent touchdown scored in the new Highmark Stadium. It came on a 6-yard pass from Pickett with two defenders flanking the receiver. Despite the tight window, Pickett knew Reed could win the matchup.

“We had a great look, he had a little option there, and we were on the same page of what we both saw,” explained Pickett. “I just wanted to handle the other linebacker and make him get out of there and let (Ja’seem) win, which he did. He made a great combat catch at the goal line, and it was a great play.”