Jim O’Neil has big plans for Eric Reid.
Not many of the coach’s defensive coordinator peers around the NFL have a safety at their disposal with Reid’s combination of size (6-foot-1, 213 pounds) and speed.
“I’m trying to think of all the safeties I’ve coached; he’s probably one of the bigger ones,” O’Neil said. “He’s got rare athletic ability. He’s got rare coverage ability. He’s such a gym rat, football junkie.”
The San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator shared that Reid was texting defensive backs coach Jeff Hafley at 11:00 p.m. earlier in the week, eager to see the base gameplan for the Carolina Panthers.