{"id":252336,"date":"2025-10-25T15:00:35","date_gmt":"2025-10-25T19:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=252336"},"modified":"2025-10-25T13:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-25T17:36:08","slug":"arvell-reese-2026-nfl-draft-profile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/10\/25\/arvell-reese-2026-nfl-draft-profile\/","title":{"rendered":"Arvell Reese 2026 NFL Draft Profile"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ohio State had eight defensive players drafted from its national championship squad a season ago. Despite massive turnover with their defensive personnel, the Buckeyes have the top-ranked scoring defense in college football. Their linebacker room is arguably the strongest in the nation, headlined by Arvell Reese. Reese has been as dominant as any player on Matt Patricia’s<\/a> defense. His breakout performance so far in 2025 is a huge reason the Buckeyes look to be the class of the Big Ten<\/a>. Reese has skyrocketed up mock drafts, but is he the best linebacker in the 2026 NFL Draft?<\/p>\n

2026 NFL Draft: Arvell Reese Player Profile<\/h2>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

Reese was a four-star recruit coming out of Glenville (Ohio) and the 18th-ranked linebacker in the Class of 2023<\/a>. He chose to stay close to home and committed to play for Ryan Day<\/a> at Ohio State. Reese appeared in six games as a true freshman on special teams. He saw an increase in action as a sophomore, appearing in all 16 games of the Buckeyes’ national title run. Reese finished 2024 with 43 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, and half a sack.<\/p>\n

The Buckeyes lost Jack Sawyer<\/a>, Cody Simon<\/a>, and J.T. Tuimoloau<\/a> to the NFL, creating a void in their front seven. Reese has stepped up and filled that void, cementing himself as one of the best players in the country. Through seven games, he has 42 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, and two pass breakups<\/a>. Reese had nine tackles and a sack in Ohio State’s 14-7 opening victory over Texas<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Strengths<\/h3>\n

Reese has some of the best physical traits of any prospect in this class. He measures at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds, while possessing elite speed for the position. Reese is an excellent run defender, routinely finding his way to running backs. He excels at shedding blocks and is a reliable tackler. As a pass rusher, Reese has displayed tremendous upside this season. His sack production is impressive for a linebacker, and he has the closing speed needed to bring down quarterbacks. Reese’s athleticism makes him an excellent option for quarterback spies, as he can keep up with more mobile signal-callers. Ohio State emphasizes versatility on the defensive side of the ball, with Reese being a prime example. He can make plays lined up both off the ball and off the edge. Reese is a player who can thrive in basically any defensive scheme.<\/p>\n

Weaknesses<\/h3>\n

While Reese is one of the most complete prospects in this class, there’s still some room for improvement. The most significant question mark for Reese is in coverage, with a 58.0 PFF grade<\/a> this season. Reese is still a young prospect and has the athletic traits to be a good coverage linebacker; it’s just a matter of developing that aspect of his game.<\/p>\n

Overview<\/h3>\n

Reese is a player who has immense upside at the next level. His physical profile is that of a future All-Pro, and he’s shown that potential this season. He is a versatile playmaker who is excellent against the run and as a pass rusher. If he can develop as a coverage defender, he can be one of the best linebackers in all of football. Reese will likely be a first-round selection, potentially a top-20 pick. If he continues his upward trajectory, Reese can play his way into the top ten.<\/p>\n

Main Photo: [Adam Cairns\/Columbus Dispatch] – Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ohio State boasts the best defense in college football this season. Breakout linebacker Arvell Reese is a key contributor for the Buckeyes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5581,"featured_media":252389,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647,33760],"tags":[33533,33842,8878],"class_list":["post-252336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","category-profiles","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-arvell-reese","tag-the-ohio-state-university"],"modified_by":"Michael Zimmelman","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=252336"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252390,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/252336\/revisions\/252390"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/252389"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=252336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=252336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=252336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}