New York Giants fans will love to hear this little Arvell Reese fact.
When the New York Giants selected Arvell Reese with the fifth overall pick of the NFL Draft, some wondered exactly what they were doing. Another pass rusher? Where would Reese fit?
After all, Reese registered 6.5 sacks during his final season at Ohio State, and many seem to feel he profiled as an edge rusher on the professional level.
However, the Giants clearly plan on using him as an inside linebacker alongside of Tremaine Edmunds, which definitely paints a clearer picture of how New York plans to organize its defense.
That being said, there are still those who wonder if Reese will ultimately move to the edge at some point just because of his skillset and archetype. But what exactly is the 20-year-old?
Ed Valentine of Big Blue View shed some light in that in a recent mailbag, answering a question from a fan who wondered if Reese was too similar to Isaiah Simmons.
Valentine doesn't see the comparison for one key reason: Simmons didn't know what he was. Reese does.
New York Giants linebacker Arvell Reese. Credit: Thomas Salus-Imagn Images."When [Simmons] was with the Giants, I asked him once what he considered himself and he didn’t give a position. I am paraphrasing, but his answer was more or less that he played football," Valentine wrote. "Reese knows exactly what he is, and will tell you he is a linebacker. He isn’t a safety, or an edge, or a nickel. He is a linebacker with pass-rush upside."
So basically, Reese can be likened to someone like Demario Davis or Devin White, both of whom are off-ball linebackers who have displayed tremendous pass-rushing ability throughout their NFL careers.
Reese is definitely raw, but the talent is clearly there. He is an athletic freak with sky-high potential, and while he may not be the most NFL-ready player in this year's draft class, it's obvious that he could become something special.
The good news? He actually seems to have a position with the Giants heading into his rookie campaign. He will be playing inside while Brian Burns, Abdul Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux handle the edge.
I still do think that eventually, Reese could be moved into an edge role, but that will ultimately depend upon how New York constructs its roster moving forward. Thibodeaux is almost surely a goner after 2026, so Reese could perhaps take on more of a hybrid role during his second season.
For now, though, Reese is a linebacker, and while John Harbaugh will certainly use him as a defensive chess piece, he at least has a designated position, which was the primary concern for him coming out of college.
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