The New York Giants have added D.J. Reader.
According to ESPN, the New York Giants have signed D.J. Reader.
The Giants are giving Reader a two-year, $12.5 million contract. Reader can make up to $15.5 million through incentives.
For the Detroit Lions last season, Reader put up 11 solo tackles and four QB hits. He spent two years with the Lions and had three sacks, 22 solo tackles, four tackles for loss and 12 QB hits in 32 games.
Reader has played for the Houston Texans, Cincinnati Bengals and Lions. He enters next season with 12.5 career sacks, 171 solo tackles, 27 tackles for loss and 56 QB hits.
Reader led the NFL last year with a 71.7% double-team rate. His 26.0% run stop win rate was below league average and behind former Giants star Dexter Lawrence (31.5%), who was traded to the Bengals this offseason.
Former Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was hired as the Giants' new head coach earlier this year. He brought Dennard Wilson with him as his defensive coordinator. Wilson's defense is expected to be similar to what he ran in Baltimore, with a sturdy nose tackle as a key component to the run defense.
Reader (6-foot-3, 330) fits the description.
Before the 2026 NFL Draft, the Giants had Kayvon Thibodeaux, Brian Burns and Abdul Carter. Now, New York has Arvell Reese in the mix.
Reese had 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks for Ohio State last season. He was a First-Team Associated Press All-American, the Big Ten Conference LB of the Year and a First-Team All-Big Ten selection.
Reese lined up all over the field at Ohio State. He played 56% of his snaps at outside linebacker, 38% at inside linebacker and 6% at defensive back. He's a very versatile player.
Reese said the majority of teams told him he would play outside backer and then there were a couple of teams, including the Giants, that mentioned inside backer.
"It didn't really matter to me," Reese said. "Getting into the league is what mattered the most to me. It didn't really matter to me. I played both at Ohio State, [Buckeyes defensive coordinator] Coach [Matt] Patricia put me at both roles, so I'm just excited to be in this situation. … There's not one or the other that I like to play more. I would say I got more reps at inside backer, but I like playing, I honestly like playing both. That was my role last year, so I appreciated both, respected both roles."
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