HOUSTON – Backpedaling smoothly as he followed the motions of safeties coach Stephen Adegoke, Reed Blankenship was in his comfort zone.
Although his NFL employer and geographic location have undergone dramatic changes, there’s a constant flow to his game.
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Since the Texans signed the former Philadelphia Eagles team captain and Super Bowl standout to a three-year, $24.75 million contract includes $16.5 million guaranteed, Blankenship is already fitting in nicely into the top-ranked defense in the NFL and the locker room dynamic.
“I mean it’s walking a dog, Reed came in here, super fun to be around, super easy to be around, really good football player, picked up really fast,” Texans Pro Bowl corner Kamari Lassiter said. “We mesh really well, we communicate well, we play fast. He’s going to be just fine with us.”
Adding a rangy, instinctive safety to an elite defense gives the Texans a chess piece they were missing last season opposite Pro Bowl alternate safety Calen Bullock.
A year ago, the Texans released former Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson after friction behind the scenes disrupted team chemistry and not playing within the scheme of the defense led to multiple coverage breakdowns, according to league sources. The Texans turned to M.J. Stewart before he tore his quadriceps tendon, ending his season. Then, they leaned on rookie Jaylen Reed before injuries interrupted his season. Myles Bryant struggled in single coverage playing out of position and he wasn’t retained as a free agent.
Enter Blankenship to bolster the position.
“Adding Reed is going to be a huge piece for us,” Texans nickel Jalen Pitre said. “He’s a great player that has been doing it in the league for a long time, got drafted when I was drafted, and also obviously has Super Bowl experience. So, he’s definitely going to help us out, has already been very vocal in his approach.”
It was a convincing and inspiring conversation between the former undrafted free agent from Middle Tennessee State and Texans coach DeMeco Ryans, a fellow Alabama native, that helped seal the deal for Blankenship
Blankenship was facing a monumental decision as football player, and a watershed moment in his life.
Blankenship was accustomed to being overlooked during the outset of his professional football career.
In high school, the rangy Alabama native’s multiple scholarship offers were primarily from smaller schools like Arkansas Tech, Alabama A&M, Southern Miss, Marist, Tulane, and Mercer. When Blankenship signed his undrafted deal with Philadelphia, his signing bonus was just $5,000.
So, it resonated strongly with Blankenship to feel truly wanted as a free agent. Under a new wrinkle to the NFL free agency rules, teams were allowed to do a recruiting telephone call to five prospective new players like Blankenship.
“I got a call from DeMeco and hearing what he had to say, I could tell that he wanted me, and I could tell that he really liked me as a player,” Blankenship said after joining the Texans. “Obviously, we haven’t met, but I feel like he knows what my character is and what my personality is. You could tell that he really wanted me and really liked me. After we hung up, I was with my wife and I’m like, ‘I really feel like Houston really wants me.’ That honestly felt like the first time in my whole NFL career that somebody really wanted me as a player and as a person.
“He was just being real, obviously just being your authentic self. He was just telling me about the building, about the place, what they’re building. I was already bought in, honestly, and I really loved everything he had to say. I don’t need a lot of peer pressure, but it was really cool to hear what he had to say. Obviously, I feel like I landed in a great spot. It’s a different sort of edge to my career. I feel like I’m going to have a lot of fun down in Houston.”
Now, the former Super Bowl champion is expected to be a big part of the Texans’ top-ranked defense.
Blankenship joined an absolutely loaded Texans secondary headlined by All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley Jr.
“As soon as he stepped out there, he meshed well with everybody,” Stingley said. “He’s out there communicating, he knows how to converse with everybody off the field, nothing’s forced, he’s being himself, and I think he going to make a lot of plays just like he’s been doing everywhere else he’s been.”
The Texans have two Pro Bowl alternates who were added to the all-star activities in Lassiter and Bullock. Stingley, Lassiter, Bullock and hard-hitting nickel Jalen Pitre all intercepted four passes apiece last season.
This is obviously one of the top secondaries in the NFL, if not the best one collectively.
“I definitely feel like we’re the best secondary just because it’s us,” Pitre said. “I think anybody would say that about themselves, but I think more so it’s the work that we put in on a daily. Our group is top to bottom, left to right, is going to go out there and make plays on Sundays. You for sure are going to see Sting catching a pick, Kamari catching a pick, Calen catching, everybody is doing something. Reed catching a pick, knocking somebody out, Nobody is satisfied in that room, and that’s why I believe that we’re the best.”
Bullock is a natural centerfielder type. Blankenship loves to be involved in the action by the line of scrimmage as a run-stopping presence and an enforcer against pass routes. He has intercepted nine passes, including four interceptions in 2024 when the Eagles won the Super Bowl. After playing for Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, Blankenship is adjusting to a Texans defensive scheme that ranked first in fewest yards allowed last season and second in points allowed per game.
“From a starting point, just the intellect, savviness,” Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke said. “He’s played a lot of ball, played a lot of big games. Obviously somewhat different scheme but just like translating into how we play and stuff. I think it’s been really cool to watch him. You watch out here, it’s like he’s been here for four years with us the whole time.
“It didn’t take him long to really fit in the room. From a personality standpoint, he’s all about ball, but he’s got it, the stuff we’re growing on and learning. He picked stuff up really quickly. What you alluded to, just sort of his history of playing and his experience allowed him to sort of like get into the groove pretty quickly. It’s been very seamless and excited to see him keep growing and get some real time reps for us.”
Blankenship, 27, is a large safety at 6-foot-1, 203 pounds.
Blankenship, who has run the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds with a 33 1/2 inch vertical leap and benched 15 reps of 225 pounds, has started 50 of 56 career games played.
He has defensed 23 passes with three fumble recoveries, 308 tackles, three for losses.
“Watching Houston fly around at times, I’m like, ‘Dang, this defense is legit,’” Blankenship said. “Fast forward, it’s crazy that a team like that wants me to come in and to perform at a high level. It speaks volumes. Coming into this defense, I feel like I can give everybody a sense of calmness. I want to be the communicator out there. I don’t want to step on anybody’s toes at all, but I want everybody just to play free.
“Play free, have fun and at the end of the day, just go and hit dudes. I’ve always been coached like an old school type coach. I’ve been born and raised to go run and hit dudes for a living. I know there’s a bunch of dogs in the secondary, linebackers, defensive line, everywhere. I’m super stoked for this. I’m just ready to build that relationship between all the levels.”
With the Eagles, Blankenship was a part of a talented secondary that included Cooper DeJean, one of his best friends and podcast partners on the ‘Exciting Mics,’ podcast and cornerbacks Quinyon Mitchell and Darius Slay Jr., He’s used to being around playmakers.
The Texans arguably have the top secondary in the league.
“They’re already a really talented group,” Blankenship said. “There shouldn’t be any fall-off. That’s my mindset. I feel like the sky’s the limit for this secondary, for sure. I know all these guys are bought in. Why wouldn’t you want to be? They all want to win. We have a winning mindset. I can already feel that in the building.”
Last season, Blankenship allowed just two touchdowns and recorded 83 tackles and one fumble recovery with one interception. His sure tackling and pop are big pluses about his game.
“The thing that I love about Reed it feels like having just another linebacker on the field, and I say that in the way that he communicates, just urgency,” Pro Bowl linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair said. “You can tell he’s obviously done it at an extremely high level, already has a Super Bowl to show for it and all the experience.
“I just think the biggest thing that I’ve enjoyed about Reed being here is just that communication piece. Obviously, I know the ability and the talent that he has, which is why he’s here in the first place, but I think that’s something that I enjoy just about him, so far.”
Blankesnhip should stabilize what was the only weak spot in the defense last season.
He’ll provide his own unique style of play and leadership.
“Honestly, I’ve never been the big rah-rah guy,” Blankenship said. “When I got voted captain, I believe that was sort of my job and opportunity to get these guys going, especially for a guy who’s been in that room. They want to hear a voice.
“I’m not the rah-rah guy, but when I step on the field, it’s this different type of emotion. My adrenaline starts going and I just flip a switch. My wife can definitely tell you all, probably in detail, that during gameday, I rarely even talk to her. I’m just locked in. There’s a certain time that I just can’t talk to anybody. I dedicate the whole day to going out and trying to get a W.”
Blankenship is used to winning.
He started as a rookie in the playoffs and recovered a fumble he forced during the NFC championship game and played in a Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. Two years later, he excelled for a Super Bowl winning squad as they avenged that defeat by toppling star quarterback Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
“I feel like the blueprint to winning a championship is not just being in a defensive mindset or offensive mindset, this is a full group,” Blankenship said. “You have to be married at every position, every level possible. I’ve got to be able to go up to an offensive lineman or to C.J. [Stroud] or whoever and have the exact same conversation I would have if I was sitting right next to my guys in the safeties room. We need to be one big family.
“Everybody needs to laugh, cut up, go hang out, whatever, because you’re with the same dudes for a long period of time during the year. In the past few years, I love going to work. I’m going to bring that sort of attitude, that mindset to the locker room and be me, be my authentic self and vibe with everybody, see what everybody’s doing and we’ll go from there.”
Aaron Wilson is a Texans and NFL reporter for KPRC 2 and click2houston.com