By drafting Arvell Reese with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the New York Giants selected a player who will make an immediate impact on their defense playing both linebacker and edge rusher. And that's why it's no surprise that Reese is garnering some early Defensive Rookie of the Year buzz.
Upon first glance, this should be good news. He is one of the best defensive players in this draft and was one of the better picks of the first round, so it's good to see the 20-year-old getting his flowers, but Abdul Carter was in this exact same boat this time last year, and we know how that story ended.
However, only Giants fans are worried about that streak continuing. ESPN analyst Ben Solak is undeterred, as he still listed Reese second in his list of Defensive Rookie of the Year frontrunners, so hopefully he can do more to live up to the generational billing in Year 1 than Carter ever did.
"It's harder for an off-ball linebacker to win this award than you might expect -- only three have since 2009, when Brian Cushing finished a four-year run of stack linebackers bringing home the hardware," Solak wrote. "We simply value pass rushing far more than tackle collection in the modern NFL ... but that might be good news for Reese, who figures to grab more pass rush reps (and sacks) than the average off-ball linebacker."
Arvell Reese's DROY buzz is triggering Abdul Carter flashbacks for Giants
When Big Blue selected Carter with the third overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, fans were elated. He was fresh off of a 12-sack campaign with Penn State in his first full season as an edge rusher. He looked like a slam dunk of a pick, and someone who would make an immediate impact on the pass-rush.
While the 22-year-old improved down the stretch, his 2025 was disappointing. Concerns about his work ethic came after he missed meetings, leading to him being benched on two separate occasions, and he amassed just four sacks, a far cry from the double-digit sacks some fans expected out of him.
And the worst part is that Solak's point about being off-ball LBs winning the award being rare looks completely obsolete. Carson Schwesinger just won Defensive Rookie of the Year with the Cleveland Browns, and Reese playing linebacker and rushing the passer will increase his DROY odds. He will be an absolute weapon for this defense from the jump, even if it takes time for him to get his feet wet.
The Ohio State product is in elite company in these early predictions, but as Carter's own presence in these same columns confirmed that no amount of speculation matters until you can back it up on Sundays. So hopefully his versatility will tell a different story and help vindicate Solak's words.
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