You might think the New York Giants will steer clear of using a top-five pick on another pass-rusher in the 2026 Draft, but with John Harbaugh now in the building and playing an important role in roster decisions, it’ll be best player available approach or bust.
That approach didn’t stop them from taking Penn State linebacker Abdul Carter last year with the third pick, even with Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux -- both first-round picks -- already on the team. If anything, it’s set New York up nicely at a premium position to either form one of the most feared pass-rushing attacks in football or make a trade to shore up a position more pressing.
Worst-case scenario, drafting the best players available on draft night gives the Giants a bunch of really talented players with limited depth chart flexibility (oh, no). Best-case scenario, they make it work regardless and use that wealth of talent to become a perennial NFC powerhouse.
Which is why if a player like Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese is still on the board when the G-Men are on the clock at No. 5, it might be very hard for them to pass. It’s also why they’re doing their due diligence on the 2025 All-American, who has a scheduled top 30 visit with the Giants this week:
Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese, a projected top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, had pre-draft "30" visits with both the #Jets and #Giants this week, per source.
— Arye Pulli (@AryePulliNFL) March 13, 2026
One of the more polarizing players in this year's draft class. pic.twitter.com/kJEwmQxhji
Giants bringing stud Ohio State LB Arvell Reese in for top-30 visit
Reese is one of the more sure things in the upcoming draft. He’s a put-me-anywhere-on-the-defense-type linebacker who projects best as an edge rusher in the NFL. In his latest top-100 prospects list for the class of ’26, Eric Edholm ranks the 20-year-old first overall and even compares him to Micah Parsons.
Talent aside, it’s interesting that Big Blue is using one of its visits on the former Buckeye. New York gets 30 pre-draft visits for players they have a genuine interest in selecting. It’s not all that surprising that a team with a top-five pick is looking at a player of Reese’s caliber, but with several other roster holes and a pass-rushing room already full, it’s not nothing.
So how would Reese fit into an already crowded pass-rushing room? Easy... he's incredibly talented. At 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds with 4.46 speed, he’s a hybrid defender who can line up off the ball or come screaming off the edge, giving the Giants another defensive terror to move around their front.
In a defense that already commands extra attention on Dexter Lawrence and has guys like Burns, Carter, and Thibodeaux (for now), a player with Reese’s athletic profile would have plenty of opportunities to make an immediate impact. It might feel like pass-rusher overkill, but the league has shown time and again that a team can't ever have too many players getting after the QB.
Still, Reese would be a surprise pick. Off-ball linebacker Sonny Styles, potential best player in the draft safety Caleb Downs, and otherworldly talented running back Jeremiyah Love could all complicate things if they’re still on the board. Or the Giants could simply trade back and go in a completely different direction.