CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia senior wide receiver Joe Reed (Charlotte Court House, Va.) was selected by the Los Angeles during Saturday’s fifth round of the National Football Draft. Reed was the 151st overall pick and the first wide receiver drafted out of Virginia since Marques Hagans was taken by the St. Louis Rams in the fifth round, 144th overall, in 2006. Virginia has now had at least one player drafted in 36 of the last 37 NFL Drafts.
 
Reed is the first Cavalier drafted by the Chargers since 2006 when placekicker Kurt Smith was taken in the sixth round. Reed is the seventh Cavalier all-time to be drafted by the Chargers.
 
Reed won the Jet Award in 2019 as the nation’s top kick returner after leading the nation with a 33.2 kick return average. He earned first-team All-America honors from the Walter Camp Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America as a kick returner. Reed was also a finalist for the Paul Hornung Award as the nation’s most versatile player. He also earned membership to the National Football Foundation’s Hampshire Society. Reed was the only player in the nation with 24 or fewer kick returns to go with 700+ kick return yards. The versatile Reed also recorded 77 receptions and 679 receiving yards to go with seven touchdown. His 77 receptions rank No. 4 on UVA’s all-time single-season ledger. Reed was the only player in the nation in 2019 with 600+ receiving yards (679) and 600+ kick return yards (796). He leaves UVA tied for No. 9 all-time with 129 receptions. Reed also leaves UVA No. 1 in program history in career kick return yards (3,042) and kick return touchdown (5). He is just the 10th player in FBS history with 3,000+ kick return yards and the only player in FBS history with at least 2,700+ career kick return yards with a career kick return average of 28+ yards.