The New York Giants defeated the Arizona Cardinals 36-24 on Sunday to improve to 3-1 on the season and to claim sole possession of first place in the NFC East for the first time since 2015. The defense playing a huge role in the win. There were plenty of huge contributors on the defensive side of the line of scrimmage, such as defensive lineman Abdul Carter and cornerback Deonte Banks. But one player who is gaining some serious recognition for his play in rookie linebacker Arvell Reese.
Reese played 63 snaps on defense for the Giants, where he recorded nine total tackles, three pass breakups, two quarterback pressures, one tackle for loss, and an interception. Reese did whatever was asked of him in defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson's game plan, and he's been exceeding the expectations. Let's not forget that Reese was viewed as a project prospect in the draft, despite his freakish athletic abilities.
Four games into the season, it looks like the Giants have the steal of the entire draft. And they have teams to thank, one of them being the Jets for passing on drafting Reese.
Giants have Jets to thank for passing on Arvell Reese in NFL Draft
Entering the first night of the NFL Draft, there were plenty of directions the teams could go with the fifth overall pick. It all depended on how the draft board panned out. The Jets, who like the Giants have spent plenty of time picking early in the first round in the past decade, held the second-overall pick. Given the quarterback class being extremely weak in 2026, the Jets were in a position to select the best impact player. It all cmae down to Reese or Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey.
Reese can pass rush, but he was used as a jack-of-all-trades defender with Ohio State. As for Bailey, he was considered the best pure pass rusher in the class. So, the choice was whether they would take the more sure thing with the second-overall pick in Bailey, or opt to take the player with the higher upside in Reese.
The Jets, of course, ended up selecting Bailey. The Giants watched Reese not only fall past the Jets, but also get byapssed by the likes of the Cardinals (No. 3 pick) and Tennessee Titans (No. 4). So, the Giants didn't hesitate in drafting Reese once they were on the clock. Let's not forget the behind the scenes video the Giants released, showing Harbaugh stunned and pumped up that Reese fell to them.
At the time of the selection, there was debate as to where Reese would play on defense. Given the presences of Brian Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux, and Carter as pass rusher. Harbaguh quickly responded to those questions, announcing that Reese would be used primarily as an off-ball linebacker.
Four games into the season, it looks like the Giants are winning the debate on which New York team drafted the better defensive rookie.
Arvell Reese is outshining David Bailey in battle of New York rookies
In the preseason, it looked as though the Jets were justified in the Bailey pick, as he shined during games and in training camp. That even translated in the Jets' Week 1 win over the Tennessee Titans, where Bailey recorded six quarterback pressures and one sack. In a Week 2 loss to the Green Bay Packers, Bailey recorded the second sack of his career. But since then, Bailey has disappeared, especially this past Sunday.
In a 23-12 loss to the Chicago Bears, Bailey logged six total tackles (two solo, four assisted). In terms of rushing the quarterback, which happened to be backup Tyson Bagent, Bailey didn't log a single pressure. That's concerning, as he started off the sesson on a high note, but his pass rushing success has diminished.
As SNY's Connor Hughes brings up, the Jets rookie has just a 9.1 percent pass rush win rate, which ranks 29th out of 36 eligibl edge rushers.
Meanwhile Reese has shined with the Giants, especially in the past two games. We brought up the statistics he put up against the Cardinals. The week prior against the Titans, Reese recorded 13 total tackles and one pass breakup. So for those two games alone, Reese logged 22 total tackles, four pass breakups, and an interception. It doesn't get much better than that.
The Giants banked on Reese's upside, but they probably didn't envision he would take to the NFL as quickly as he did. There is still plenty of season left, but Reese looks like an unstoppable force on defense. And Bailey struggling in recent weeks only makes their decision to pass on Reese in the draft more confusing.
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