ORCHARD PARK, NY — There's a lot of implied trust a quarterback has to have in a receiver.

The QB needs to trust his pass-catcher will be where expected, adjust routes as needed, and be ready for the ball at all times. When that trust is at its strongest, the connection shows up in a special way.

Perhaps that's why Ja'seem Reed has flourished this training camp, both in practice and now through two preseason games with two touchdowns.

"He's consistently where I need him to be," noted quarterback Kenny Pickett following the Panthers' preseason loss at Buffalo. "We have great conversations on the field, off the field. I have full faith he's going to be where I need him to be, and he just keeps showing up. So there's no surprise."

Rookie Haynes King threw Reed's first touchdown catch last week. The one on Saturday was a dart from Pickett. And he's also caught plenty from Bryce Young during practice. All three quarterbacks are finding out in real time that when it comes to Reed, they can trust who is on the other end.

"Same thing he's been doing all camp, being consistent, doing a great job of winning, great job of understanding leverage, understanding route timing, and for us, I think someone that we can trust," echoed Young following Reed's day in Buffalo.

"We feel like that with all of our guys, but when you go out there, and you just see him continue to put it on film- a good guy off the field and I want him to learn to have those conversations. We all trust him in the room, so it's no surprise he's been having the success of that."

That sort of validation is heady for a guy who spent all of last year toiling on the practice squad. Now, he has multiple quarterbacks singing his praises.

"It feels good, especially because I have the same trust in them and just out there every day at practice," he said. "It feels great, just letting it come to me and just playing my game and trusting."

Reed's touchdown against the Bills marked the first opponent touchdown scored in the new Highmark Stadium. It came on a 6-yard pass from Pickett with two defenders flanking the receiver. Despite the tight window, Pickett knew Reed could win the matchup.

"We had a great look, he had a little option there, and we were on the same page of what we both saw," explained Pickett. "I just wanted to handle the other linebacker and make him get out of there and let (Ja'seem) win, which he did. He made a great combat catch at the goal line, and it was a great play."

Reed finished with three receptions for 17 yards and the score. He and Pickett in particular have shown a connection this training camp, born of time together in OTAs and mandatory minicamp, working with the twos. As such, Reed knows he can trust his quarterback just as much as Pickett trusts him.

"It comes from practice, after practice, walking through things. Just picking his brain, seeing what he thinks on certain routes and stuff like that and vice versa," explained Reed. "I think he sheds light on a lot of things that I can see differently and definitely opens up the picture for me a lot."

Before he could ever become the receiver whom quarterbacks trust implicitly, though, Reed had to learn to trust himself. That's what much of last season was about for the San Diego product. And he came out of it feeling much more confident in what he could bring to an NFL squad.

"I think it's definitely growing, being on the practice squad, going against Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson every day, just developing my game and just growth in myself and just believing in myself more and more," Reed shared.

"Just going out there and doing me and trusting God and trusting myself and in the scheme and letting the plays come to me, and whenever they come, making the play…I just think every day going against them, like, of course they're going to make plays. I'm going to make plays, and, I think again, that just helps to boost my confidence."

And while this will still be a hard wide receiver corps to crack into, Reed is making it even harder for coaches to ignore the man who just keeps finding himself in the end zone.

"Just making the plays that are there for him to make," Panthers head coach Dave Canales said. "I know he had a drop in the first week, came back, scored a touchdown, and then it was a really bang-bang play.

"Those are the type of plays I want to see him make with somebody on his back, a really nice throw by Kenny right at the goal line, a physical play. That was fantastic to see."