Entering the first night of the 2026 NFL draft, the New York Giants did not have ambitions of getting Arvell Reese with the No. 5 overall pick.
They wanted him, no doubt. Any team would want the freak All-American 6-foot-4, 241-pound linebacker with a 4.46-second 40-yard dash time and major pass-rushing upside. That’s why the New York Jets were long projected to snatch him with the No. 2 overall pick. And if not the Jets, then the Cardinals at No. 3 or Titans at No. 4.
“We hoped (for Reese at No. 5), but there weren't a lot of scenarios that we went through where he may be available,” Giants general manager Joe Schoen said after the first round concluded.
Then the Jets opted for the edge prospect with higher sack production in 2025, Texas Tech’s David Bailey. The Cardinals took elite running back Jeremiyah Love and the Titans opted for Reese’s Ohio State teammate Carnell Tate, the best receiver in the draft.
The dominoes had fallen. The Giants pounced.
“He was our highest-rated player, non-quarterback player in the draft,” new Giants head coach John Harbaugh said. “He's an exciting player. We are fired up to have him.”
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— New York Giants (@Giants) April 24, 2026
Reese projects to provide immediate impact for the Giants, whether as an inside or outside linebacker, but New York is eager to hone his pass-rush skills and use him as a building block for its new-look franchise under Harbaugh.
“It's been nothing but excitement,” Reese said in his first press conference with the Giants media. “I spent some time with my family after. Nothing but excitement.”
There were flashes from Reese as Ohio State’s top backup linebacker behind Cody Simon and Sonny Styles on the Buckeyes’ 2024 national championship team. Reese had 43 tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss. But in the first eight games of 2025, he emerged as one of the best linebackers in college football.
Reese racked up 54 tackles, nine TFL and 6.5 sacks combined in his first eight contests last season. Defensive coordinator Matt Patricia moved him all about Ohio State’s defense, playing him on the edge, in B-gap on the line of scrimmage and in the slot on top of his typical off-ball linebacking duties. Reese skyrocketed to national acclaim, earning first-team All-American honors. He finished the year with 69 tackles, 10 TFL and 6.5 sacks.
“Arvell is a versatile player, and we're going to play him at inside backer, Will linebacker,” Harbaugh said. “Our defense is pretty flexible, positionless, you might call it. We have an opportunity to move those guys around, but he'll line up next to Tremaine (Edmunds), and he'll be in the A-gap, the B-gap, the C-gap, the D-gap, off the edge. He'll be moving around with all of our guys.”
After getting the call at No. 5, Reese started connecting with his new coaches immediately, getting dinner with defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson and linebackers coach Frank Bush the evening after the Giants drafted him.
“We had a great conversation, a great long conversation,” Reese said. “I just felt like I could relate to those guys so much. They kept it real with me. They gave me some tips and pointers on how to move throughout my rookie year. And then with Coach Harbaugh, we had a great conversation as well, a great long conversation.”
Reese was one of four first-round draft picks from Ohio State, and two others will play defense in the same division as him, with the Washington Commanders taking linebacker Sonny Styles No. 7 overall and the Dallas Cowboys taking safety Caleb Downs No. 11 overall.
“That means a lot that we get to play in the same division, go against each other, compete with each other. That's all we ever did at Ohio State,” Reese said. “And it means a lot seeing those guys go there, those guys that I know deserve it. I've seen them grinding day in, day out; from the winter to the spring workouts. It means a lot. It's a blessing.”
While Reese has the most projected upside as an edge rusher – an outside linebacker in New York’s 3-4 defense – he’s likely to see most of his time as an inside linebacker for New York in 2026. The Giants have more questions there than off the edge. Outside linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux might be on the trading block, but veteran OLB Brian Burns had 16.5 sacks for New York last year, and the team just drafted OLB Abdul Carter in the first round of the 2025 NFL draft.
The Giants signed veteran inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds, fresh off his eighth consecutive season with more than 100 tackles, in free agency. But they lost far and away their best ILB from last year, Bobby Okereke, so there’s a spot open there for Reese. As a bonus, Edmunds has always been one of Reese’s “favorite linebackers.” And he has lots of memories of watching some of Harbaugh’s great defenses with the Baltimore Ravens.
“The image that I remember growing up, I always felt like the Ravens played fast and violent,” Reese said. “And that's kind of what I try to model my game after, being fast and violent. Always thinking violence, for sure.”
Reese is still raw as a pass rusher. Ohio State sent him on pass rush for an average of just 8.5 snaps per game in 2025, and he later told ESPN’s Benjamin Solak that he rarely practiced rush moves in Columbus. But Reese’s incredible combination of speed, strength and bend gives him great potential.
“It's tremendous,” Schoen said. “He's just scratching the surface. You see the size, the length, the traits, and again, like Coach (Harbaugh) was talking about, just the versatility that the player has and how we can use him with some of the pieces that we already have. We're not going to necessarily have to ask him to win off the edge, we've got guys that can do that. So we have a phenomenal defensive staff, and they're going to find creative ways to use him.”
