Arvell Reese did not sneak into the NFL. The Ohio State consensus All-American linebacker crashed the front door of the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday night, going fifth overall to the New York Giants and instantly becoming the face of the team’s defensive reboot.
The 6-foot-4, 241-pound defender capped a rapid rise from Cleveland’s Glenville High School to Columbus, finishing his junior year as one of college football’s most versatile pass-rush and coverage weapons. Reese arrives in New York with a reputation for sideline-to-sideline range and power off the edge, leaving Buckeye fans and Giants supporters eager to see how the team actually uses him. The pick is a high-ceiling gamble on a hybrid defender who projects as a day-one rotational rusher with room to grow into a full three-down role.
The Giants confirmed the selection and posted Reese’s scouting profile and testing numbers, including a 4.46-second 40-yard dash and a 1.58-second 10-yard split. According to Giants.com, he is listed at 6'4" and 241 pounds and is billed as an edge/linebacker hybrid. The team’s release emphasized his athletic testing and on-field versatility as key reasons for pulling the trigger so early.
Reese closed the 2025 season with 69 tackles, 10.0 tackles-for-loss, and 6.5 sacks, and finished his Ohio State career with 112 tackles and 13.5 TFLs, per NFL.com. He was named a consensus All-American and the Big Ten’s Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year, as recorded by AP News. That blend of production and hardware helped shove Reese into top-five consideration despite lingering questions about what, exactly, his primary NFL position will be.
From Glenville To The Draft
Reese’s rise still reads like a Cleveland success story. He helped lead Glenville to its first state title in 2022, a landmark moment for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. Local outlets tracked his climb from high-school standout to Buckeye starter, and the draft pick landed as a big moment for Glenville’s community, as reported by WOIO. Coaches and teammates in Cleveland frequently pointed to his length and work ethic as the foundation of his development.
What The Giants Get
Front-office types and draft analysts have tagged Reese as a “positionless” defender who can slide from off-ball linebacker to true edge rusher without losing his coverage chops. That kind of versatility gives New York schematic flexibility and could free the team to chase complementary pieces or consider reshuffling veterans in the pass-rush rotation. Draft coverage highlighted Reese’s athletic ceiling as the primary reason the Giants used a top-five pick on a defender, according to NBC Sports.
For Reese, the next step is the rookie minicamp and an offseason that will test whether his pass-rush polish can catch up to his physical tools. Buckeye media praised the selection and reported Reese saying he still sees room to refine his footwork and hand usage, a point highlighted by Buckeye Sports Bulletin. The Giants will hope that swift development turns a high-upside bet into an early-impact contributor for their front seven.
