University of Delaware Athletics
Photo by: Jeff Lewis/Rams
From Undrafted To Starter: Troy Reeder's Impressive Rookie NFL Season
4/22/2020 1:08:00 PM | Football
The last day of the NFL Draft can be chaotic if you're a fringe prospect, like many FCS players are. Years of hard work and dedication culminating in the chance to fulfill a dream of playing professional football. As the anxiety builds with each pick off the board, countless different area codes start blowing up your phone: scouts and coaches with talks of late round picks and free agent contracts.
For Delaware's Troy Reeder, the final day of the 2019 Draft on April 27 was another stop on a journey that had already been filled with ups and downs.
Following two years at Penn State (one as a redshirt), the Hockessin, Del., native returned home to play three seasons for the Blue Hens from 2016-18, earning All-Colonial Athletic Association honors in each year. Reeder had a prolific career in the Blue and Gold, racking up 283 tackles in three years, the 22nd most in program history. As a redshirt senior in 2018, he piled up 131 tackles, the fifth most in a single season by a Delaware player, which earned him recognition as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the FCS' top defensive player.
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The team's performance took a positive step forward in Reeder's final year as well. After just missing out on the playoffs in 2017, the Blue Hens earned an at-large playoff bid in 2018 with conference wins over fellow playoff teams Towson (which had clipped Delaware 18-17 the previous year) and Elon.
"In our conference, the teams are all so good and so if you don't win the 50-50 games, you're going to have a losing record," Reeder said of beating Towson and Elon. "That was kind of the final thing, like we made it, we pushed it over the top…that was kind of a finishing touch."
After back-to-back First Team All-CAA campaigns, Reeder felt like he had proven himself worthy of an invite to one of the senior bowls and the NFL Scouting Combine, but no such invitation came. That put a significant emphasis on Delaware's Pro Day in March of 2019, with representatives from all 32 NFL teams on hand. Reeder felt good about his performance, confident that he had proven himself draft worthy. But after all seven rounds, Reeder remained undrafted.
Up, down, up down.
In some ways, undrafted free agents have an advantage over late-round draft picks in that if they have multiple offers, they get to choose their best fit; in a way, like college recruiting. That's how Reeder became a Los Angeles Ram.
"I signed with them 15 minutes after the draft was over," Reeder said. "L.A. was my number one team going into the day that I said if I don't get drafted, and they don't take a high-round guy at my position, this is a really good spot for me. Really good coaches. Guys that, throughout the draft process, I felt like in a way recruited me. I felt like they were telling the truth and were good, quality guys."
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Signing an NFL contract is a huge accomplishment, but by no means does it guarantee a regular-season roster spot: teams have to cut their rosters from 90 to 53 before Week 1.
"There's 90 guys right now. And all 90 of them were really good college players, All-American high school players," Reeder said. "There's no big fish in a small pond. You are one of many big fish.
"I think the best way to approach it is as if your career depended on it," Reeder continued. "You're never safe in this profession, so you always have to have that chip on your shoulder, just trying to win every day."
With that mentality, Reeder made the 53-man roster out of training camp. He looks back at a moment in OTAs (Organized Team Activities, a series of 10 offseason practices before training camp) for when it clicked for him that he belonged in the NFL.
"One of the last days of OTAs, they were running a two-minute drill and they threw me in against the first team offense. At middle linebacker, you're one of the guys running the show, getting the calls. You have the mic in your helmet, so you're relaying what the defensive coordinator's telling you to the team," Reeder said. "I think that was really big for me going into that month and a half off in the summer before camp. That gave me that confidence and that feeling that OK, I just played the team that was the best offense in the league the year before and I was fine."
Reeder played in all 16 games as the Rams went 9-7, eventually starting eight contests after an injury to Bryan Hager, racking up 58 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles. His most productive game came in a close 30-29 loss at Seattle in Week 5, when he recorded 13 tackles.
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Before he was proving himself as a rising defensive star, Reeder was cutting his teeth in the NFL game on special teams, a signature of his career. The linebacker got special teams snaps in all 16 contests in 2019. Even when he was one of the premier linebackers in the CAA, Reeder, ever the competitor, was asking for snaps on the special teams unit.
"I've always really loved special teams," Reeder said. "If you're competitive, you want to be out there as many snaps as you can. I think that helped me prepare for my role on special teams in the NFL."
The Rams had some of the best specialists in the league during Reeder's rookie year. Kicker Greg Zuerlein is known for his powerful leg, punter Johnny Hekker was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team, and long snapper Jack McQuaide is a nine-year veteran. That star power helped fuel Reeder's passion for doing the dirty work of blocking.
"I think everybody recognizes that's a great way to go out and make your first impression, is through special teams," Reeder said. "It was just a really good group of guys that you wanted to protect."
Now that Reeder has a season of quality experience under his belt in the fast-paced NFL, he's ready to take the next step and evolve as a bright young star for the Rams.
"Coming back as a veteran player now, you're no longer an undrafted rookie," Reeder said. "You're like, 'I played last year and I mattered and I made a difference,' I think that whole thing, confidence and poise and experience, just drives you to be able to take the next step."
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For Delaware's Troy Reeder, the final day of the 2019 Draft on April 27 was another stop on a journey that had already been filled with ups and downs.
Following two years at Penn State (one as a redshirt), the Hockessin, Del., native returned home to play three seasons for the Blue Hens from 2016-18, earning All-Colonial Athletic Association honors in each year. Reeder had a prolific career in the Blue and Gold, racking up 283 tackles in three years, the 22nd most in program history. As a redshirt senior in 2018, he piled up 131 tackles, the fifth most in a single season by a Delaware player, which earned him recognition as a finalist for the Buck Buchanan Award, given annually to the FCS' top defensive player.
Â
The team's performance took a positive step forward in Reeder's final year as well. After just missing out on the playoffs in 2017, the Blue Hens earned an at-large playoff bid in 2018 with conference wins over fellow playoff teams Towson (which had clipped Delaware 18-17 the previous year) and Elon.
"In our conference, the teams are all so good and so if you don't win the 50-50 games, you're going to have a losing record," Reeder said of beating Towson and Elon. "That was kind of the final thing, like we made it, we pushed it over the top…that was kind of a finishing touch."
After back-to-back First Team All-CAA campaigns, Reeder felt like he had proven himself worthy of an invite to one of the senior bowls and the NFL Scouting Combine, but no such invitation came. That put a significant emphasis on Delaware's Pro Day in March of 2019, with representatives from all 32 NFL teams on hand. Reeder felt good about his performance, confident that he had proven himself draft worthy. But after all seven rounds, Reeder remained undrafted.
Up, down, up down.
In some ways, undrafted free agents have an advantage over late-round draft picks in that if they have multiple offers, they get to choose their best fit; in a way, like college recruiting. That's how Reeder became a Los Angeles Ram.
"I signed with them 15 minutes after the draft was over," Reeder said. "L.A. was my number one team going into the day that I said if I don't get drafted, and they don't take a high-round guy at my position, this is a really good spot for me. Really good coaches. Guys that, throughout the draft process, I felt like in a way recruited me. I felt like they were telling the truth and were good, quality guys."
Â
Signing an NFL contract is a huge accomplishment, but by no means does it guarantee a regular-season roster spot: teams have to cut their rosters from 90 to 53 before Week 1.
"There's 90 guys right now. And all 90 of them were really good college players, All-American high school players," Reeder said. "There's no big fish in a small pond. You are one of many big fish.
"I think the best way to approach it is as if your career depended on it," Reeder continued. "You're never safe in this profession, so you always have to have that chip on your shoulder, just trying to win every day."
With that mentality, Reeder made the 53-man roster out of training camp. He looks back at a moment in OTAs (Organized Team Activities, a series of 10 offseason practices before training camp) for when it clicked for him that he belonged in the NFL.
"One of the last days of OTAs, they were running a two-minute drill and they threw me in against the first team offense. At middle linebacker, you're one of the guys running the show, getting the calls. You have the mic in your helmet, so you're relaying what the defensive coordinator's telling you to the team," Reeder said. "I think that was really big for me going into that month and a half off in the summer before camp. That gave me that confidence and that feeling that OK, I just played the team that was the best offense in the league the year before and I was fine."
Reeder played in all 16 games as the Rams went 9-7, eventually starting eight contests after an injury to Bryan Hager, racking up 58 tackles and a pair of forced fumbles. His most productive game came in a close 30-29 loss at Seattle in Week 5, when he recorded 13 tackles.
Â
Before he was proving himself as a rising defensive star, Reeder was cutting his teeth in the NFL game on special teams, a signature of his career. The linebacker got special teams snaps in all 16 contests in 2019. Even when he was one of the premier linebackers in the CAA, Reeder, ever the competitor, was asking for snaps on the special teams unit.
"I've always really loved special teams," Reeder said. "If you're competitive, you want to be out there as many snaps as you can. I think that helped me prepare for my role on special teams in the NFL."
The Rams had some of the best specialists in the league during Reeder's rookie year. Kicker Greg Zuerlein is known for his powerful leg, punter Johnny Hekker was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team, and long snapper Jack McQuaide is a nine-year veteran. That star power helped fuel Reeder's passion for doing the dirty work of blocking.
"I think everybody recognizes that's a great way to go out and make your first impression, is through special teams," Reeder said. "It was just a really good group of guys that you wanted to protect."
Now that Reeder has a season of quality experience under his belt in the fast-paced NFL, he's ready to take the next step and evolve as a bright young star for the Rams.
"Coming back as a veteran player now, you're no longer an undrafted rookie," Reeder said. "You're like, 'I played last year and I mattered and I made a difference,' I think that whole thing, confidence and poise and experience, just drives you to be able to take the next step."
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