ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Former Tiger All-American and Buffalo Bills wide receiver Josh Reed was selected as the “NFL Rookie of the Week” for his performance in last Sunday’s overtime win over the Vikings. He becomes the third Bill to earn player of the week honors, joining teammates Drew Bledsoe and kicker Mike Hollis who were named AFC Offensive and Special Teams Player of the Week, respectively.
Reed scored his first career touchdown and recorded first NFL 100-yard receiving day in Buffalo’s 45-39 overtime win at Minnesota. He finished with eight catches for 110 yards and a 9-yard TD pass that tied the game at 13. The yardage total was the most by a Bills rookie since Chris Burkett’s 127 on Dec. 8, 1985, versus the N.Y. Jets. He also had a key 8-yard reception on the final drive of regulation as he helped the Bills move into position for the game-tying field goal by moving 29 yards in 18 seconds.
Reed was one of five finalists for the award, the first NFL weekly honor determined solely by fan voting, which is done on www.NFL.com. He finished with 41.4 percent of the 32,847 total votes and received more than twice as many votes as the nearest competitor. The other four finalists and their final vote percentages were Carolina DE Julius Peppers (18.2 percent), San Diego LB Ben Leber (also 18.2 percent), New Orleans WR Donte Stallworth (13.0 percent) and NY Giants TE Jeremy Shockey (8.7 percent).
After the regular season, five players will be nominated for NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Fans can vote for the winner on NFL.com throughout the month of January. The winner will be announced at a press conference at Super Bowl XXXVII in San Diego.
An All-America and Biletnikoff Award winning wide receiver at LSU after his junior season, Reed was the 36th overall selection in the 2002 NFL Draft by the Bills on April 20.
Reed, who left LSU after his record-setting season that ended with Southeastern Conference and Sugar Bowl Championships, was the fifth wide receiver taken in the draft.
Former Georgia tight end Randy McMichael, now a Miami Dolphin, won the NFL Rookie of the Week Award after week 1.