It's safe to say the New York Giants lucked out in the 2026 NFL Draft. Arvell Reese fell right into their laps with the fifth overall pick, and they badly needed someone with his skillset. A top-three talent with the versatility to rush the passer, excel in coverage, and captain their defense is amazing value.
Nobody was expecting the 20-year-old to be there for the Giants at pick five, but for John Harbaugh's sake, I'm so glad he was. If Reese was unavailable, odds are Big Blue would have pivoted to his Ohio State teammate Sonny Styles, who was selected two picks later by the NFC East rival Commanders.
For all the credit Harbaugh gets for revamping New York's linebacker room, Washington did the exact same thing. They took advantage of the unexpected ripple effects of the reigning Butkus Award's slide down the draft board, but the division rivals also spent considerably money on their LB room.
The Giants may end up regretting drafting Arvell Reese over Sonny Styles
The two ex-Buckeyes both hope to make an instant impact in the NFL, so naturally they're two of the Defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunners. Unfortunately, a list of 100 bold predictions from Sports Illustrated's Connor Orr had Styles winning the award over his old teammate.
""The former Ohio State linebacker will finish the season in the top five in tackles, and log at least three interceptions in his first year playing under Dan Quinn for the Commanders." "Connor Orr
Orr predicted that Styles will finish his rookie season top five in the NFL in tackles, but he also predicts his coverage abilities as a converted safety will help him nab at least three interceptions playing for Dan Quinn in Washington. And he has a pretty strong track record with developing LBs.
A linebacker won DROY last year (Carson Schwesinger, Browns), and Orr thinks that streak will extend for a second season. Unfortunately, he doesn't think Reese's odds are as good which can only attributed to Sonny Styles playing a flashier brand of football and not splitting time between two positions.
Here's what Orr's assessment forgot about though: the Giants' defense improved considerably this offseason, The reigning Big Ten Linebacker of the Year has a running mate perfectly suited to his skillset in Tremaine Edmunds, and the linebackers Harbaugh has worked with are arguably better.
Ray Lewis. Terrell Suggs. C.J. Mosley. Roquan Smith. They all became All-Pros under Harbs' tutelage, and the first two are Hall of Famers. Arvell Reese has a chance to continue that lineage with the G-Men, so even if Styles takes home the hardware, Reese will end up having the better career.
Add us as a preferred source on Google