Giants’ Arvell Reese Named ‘Top 5’ Defensive Rookie of the Year Candidate

The Giants have grand plans for their first-round linebacker in 2026, but what must he accomplish to stand out from the pack of defensive rookies?

Apr 24, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants draft pick Arvell Reese addresses the media during the introductory press conference at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-Imagn Images | Tom Horak-Imagn Images

For a second year, the New York Giants have an incoming rookie on the defensive side of the ball who is already receiving early hype for what he might accomplish in his first foray into NFL play.

Last offseason, it was outside linebacker Abdul Carter, whom the Giants selected No. 3 overall when, as this time, their sights were set on adding the best available player at their top pick. 

Carter came in with hefty expectations after leading the nation in sacks in 2024 and brought a highly coveted versatility to play at numerous spots along the defensive front.

Following in Carter's footsteps is off-ball linebacker and this year's No. 5 choice, Arvell Reese, who, by some luck from the football gods, slid down to New York's position on the board and became one of their two big acquisitions on night one as they rounded out John Harbaugh's roster.

The Giants made it known from the moment they selected Reese that he was going to be an important piece in their defense lineup in the 2026 season. 

They believe the Ohio State product has all the intangibles to run the high-motor system Harbaugh wants to run this fall and will rack up numbers that will have folks around the league saying his name among the best players in his class.

Apparently, ESPN NFL analyst Ben Solak agrees with Big Blue, putting Reese among his top five favorites for Defensive Rookie of the Year honors.

While he has the 20-year-old Reese listed as a contender based on his talents alone, there is one contribution that Solak seems to think the rookie linebacker must make if he wants to distance himself from the competition, which figures to hold major roles in their organizations as well.

Can Arvell Reese Grow as a Pass Rusher to Help His Case for DPOY?

Indiana Hoosiers quarterback Fernando Mendoza (15) scrambles past Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Sonny Styles (0) and linebacker Arvell Reese (8) during the Big Ten Conference championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Dec. 6, 2025. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Even though he doesn't say it plainly, Solak predicts that the key to Reese winning the award at the end of his rookie campaign will hinge on his ability to impact the game as a pass rusher.

"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 said.

"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.

The more we learn about the Giants' plan for him, the easier it'll be to predict him. Right now, he's mostly theory."

If Reese's college tape proves anything, it's that he was more than capable of getting after the opposing quarterback and setting drives backward with sacks.

Last season, he led the Buckeyes' linebacker room with 8 sacks in true passing sets, seven more than his teammate and fellow first-round pick Sonny Styles, who finished with just one sack, to produce a 72.9 pass rush grade.

Those numbers were all major improvements from the previous season, when Reese recorded just three sacks and seven total pressures in 295 defensive snaps.

Even his run response took a major lead, as the 6-foot-4, 243-pound linebacker went from whiffing on 15.0% of his tackle attempts down to 5.3% with 30 stops made within the gaps.

The Giants, who plan on putting Reese into their starting WILL linebacker spot on day one, are expecting their top rookie to come in and show that same impact he had in college.

His strength in the run element will be huge for a unit that was picked apart by opposing ball carriers at the highest rate in the NFL last season (5.6 yards per attempt).

With the edge position a little crowded with the Giants' current trio of Brian Burns, Abdul Carter, and Kayvon Thibodeaux, who appears to be keeping his Giants' uniform despite repetitive trade rumors leading up to the draft, the backfield damage will just have to come from a slightly different level of the defense to make it happen.

Apr 24, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants draft pick Arvell Reese poses for a photo during the introductory press conference at Quest Diagnostics Training Center. | Tom Horak-Imagn Images

That is one of the benefits of having so many talented pass rushers as the Giants have assembled for defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson: they can send so many different pressure packages at an offense that often confuses the offensive line and, in turn, opens up opportunities for unsuspected players like Reese to come through and make the big time play.

Having the speed and "switchability" that Reese has to change direction and follow the quarterback as the play breaks down, we can't see why there wouldn't be a path towards the No. 5 pick notching a few sacks on his first pro resume, with anything past 2.5 sacks outperforming last year's DPOY winner in Cleveland Browns linebacker Carson Schwesinger.

Still, if Reese can just help the Giants defense curb their blatant inability to slow down the other side from running the pigskin down their throats and keep the unit on the field for long and unsustainable periods of time each week, that will be worthy enough of putting his name into the conversation of the most impactful rookies to strap on the helmet and shoulder pads this season.

If the Giants' concern was purely rushing the passer, they might have gone in a different direction than they did a few weeks ago in Pittsburgh, but they had the chance to take their top non-quarterback prospect off the board and hopefully will capitalize on his talents in order to make their defense even stronger.

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