Could one of the top prospects in the 2026 NFL draft head back to his hometown on one of the teams with a top 10 pick?
The 2026 NFL Scouting Combine is underway in Indianapolis, which will see the best prospects make their marks on teams ahead of the 2026 NFL draft. One of the top players to watch this week at Lucas Oil Stadium is Ohio State Buckeyes star Arvell Reese. Reese is expected to be a top-5 pick, or even more elite, but should he fall, there’s a team waiting within the rafters inside the top 10. That would be the Cleveland Browns sitting at No. 6 overall, who Reese met with in his pre-draft interview process. Intriguingly, the Browns aren’t expected to go defense with their first-round selection, but that might all change for a dynamic playmaker like Reese who grew up about 15 mins away from Huntington Bank Field in Cleveland.
"That would mean a lot because I'm from Cleveland,” Reese said to reporters when speaking Wednesday. “That would be crazy but, it would just be a blessing to go anywhere, honestly."
What teams view him as position fit-wise might matter to his selection as well, with Reese also declaring at the NFL Combing that he views himself as an outside linebacker/edge rusher more than an off-ball-linebacker. That’s something teams have asked him throughout the week – maybe one of them was Cleveland.
Here is the full story from Buckeyes Roundtable writer Anthony Moeglin on Reese opening up about playing for his hometown team and that potential fit.
Reese totaled 69 tackles and 6.5 sacks last season, and believes he hasn’t “even scratched the surface with really what I can do pass rushing.” He plans to run the 40-yard dash, and participate in both outside linebacker/edge and off-the-ball linebacker drills to showcase his ultimate versatility to all teams in the top 5, and hopeful worst case, top 10.