The Serpent of Death: Josh Reynolds has quietly been huge for the Lions
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell gave out one of the coolest nicknames to one of his players last year while the Lions were on Hard Knocks. He called Josh Reynolds 'the serpent of fucking death." The nickname was given to Reynolds because of his ability to sneak up on you can hurt you when […]
Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell gave out one of the coolest nicknames to one of his players last year while the Lions were on Hard Knocks. He called Josh Reynolds 'the serpent of fucking death."
The nickname was given to Reynolds because of his ability to sneak up on you can hurt you when least expect it. That's been Reynolds since day one in Detroit. He's never been the guy that will rack up 1,000 yards seasons, but he is going to hurt you and he's going to it quietly.
Reynolds showed up with the Lions midway through the 2021 season after things didn't work out with the Titans and decided to separate from him. In his second game with the Lions, he put up 70 yards and a touchdown. The big thing he did in that game though was a huge 39 yard catch. These are the types of things that the Lions can get out of Reynolds and this is why he hurts teams. He's a super quiet playmaker that just sneaks up on you.
Reynolds has played 22 games with the Lions and he's been targeted in 20 of them. He's made a big play in almost every game he's played. Take a look.
| Game | Long |
|---|---|
Vs. Browns | 0 |
Vs. Bears | 39 |
Vs. Vikings | 28 |
Vs. Broncos | 20 |
Vs. Cardinals | 22 |
Vs. Falcons | 23 |
Vs. Packers | 11 |
Vs. Eagles | 28 |
Vs. Commanders | 23 |
Vs. Vikings | 26 |
Vs. Seahawks | 26 |
Vs. Patriots | 31 |
Vs. Cowboys | 8 |
Vs. Dolphins | 11 |
Vs. Jaguars | 8 |
Vs. Vikings | 18 |
Vs. Panthers | 26 |
Vs. Bears | 5 |
Vs. Packers | 16 |
Vs. Chiefs | 33 |
Ok, there you have it. Reynolds has had a catch of 15 yards or more in 14 of the 20 games he's been targeted in. That's not the most spectacular thing you;ve ever seen, but when you take into account that Reynolds averages five targets a game, you see that more often than not, he's taking one of those targets and is going to make a big play out of it. It's always when you least expect it.
The latest example being from last Thursday. Reynolds caught five passes against the Chiefs and he racked up the yards. He had a 21-yard catch in the first quarter, an 18 yard catch in the fourth and then a couple plays later he exploded for this 33 yard catch that put the Lions in the red zone and set them up for the game winning David Montgomery touchdown.
He snuck up on the defense and killed them when they least expected it. That's why he's the serpent of death. We'll see if he can keep this run going through the season. I would imagine he will sneak up on us when he does.
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I don't if anyone has noticed, but Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell loves to fake a punt. He's attempted eight of them since he became the Lions coach and he's converted on seven of them. That incudes last Thursday's insane fake punt for the Lions own 17. There might be a reason why Campbell […]
Featured image by Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK
