• Moving up the draft: Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese is showcasing first-round talent this year.
• NFL comparison: With his impressive speed, Reese is reminiscent of Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper.
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Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Before every college football and NFL season, we go through a summer scouting excercise. We take a look at some of the top upperclassmen returning to college football, as well as some notable first-time draft-eligible true juniors and redshirt sophomores. However, even then, there are still some players who can come out of nowhere to rise up the draft boards.

For the 2026 NFL Draft, no player has done that more than Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese.

Reese, a 6-foot-4 and 240-pound linebacker, is a true junior this season. He hails from Cleveland, Ohio, where he attended Glenville High School, winning a state championship as a senior – he even nabbed an interception in the state title game. He earned a four-star recruiting label and played in six games right away as a true freshman at Ohio State but missed most of that 2023 season due to a concussion. The following season, in 2024, he was a rotational player in all 16 games, logging 322 snaps on defense with an additional 190 on special teams. His execution grades were solid that year, earning a 76.4 overall defense grade with a 76.4 run-defense grade and 80.4 pass-rush grade.  

Here in 2025, he’s now a full-time starter at linebacker next to Sonny Styles. Reese and Styles form the most athletic linebacker duo in the country. Reese’s grades are slightly down compared to last year, a 71.3 overall defense grade, 73.9 run-defense grade and 75.2 pass-rush grade, but at his current pace, those numbers will naturally rise if he remains as consistently impactful across the board – remember, PFF grades reward consistency over a long period of time.

Reese’s athleticism and versatility combination make him such an alluring NFL prospect who has already risen to the top 20 on the PFF big board.

At 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, he is right in the middle of a modern-day off- and on-ball linebacker (edge defender). Not only does he possess the speed and adequate length of a player who can switch between off- and on-ball linebacker, he is also pound-for-pound strong enough to challenge offensive linemen when he’s in pass-rush situations, converting speed-to-power at a consistent and impactful level. So far in 2025, Reese has played 144 snaps on the defensive line (edge), 157 as an off-ball linebacker in the box, 13 as a slot/apex defender and even two as an outside cornerback. When aligned as a defensive lineman (mainly an edge), he has recorded a 59.6 overall defense grade with a 63.1 run-defense grade and 67.4 pass-rush grade. As an off-ball linebacker, he has recorded an 80.6 overall defense grade with a 78.5 run-defense grade and 79.2 pass-rush grade. 

Depending on where you want to play Reese in the NFL, his next step in his progression is to focus more on either pass rushing (specifically from an edge spot) or in coverage as more of an off-ball backer. His pass-rush grade as a defensive lineman was lower and less effective than it was from him just blitzing as a linebacker, but his 17.1% pass-rush win rate was still strong (20.3% as a linebacker).

If he’s going to lean more into defensive line rushing, he’ll likely need to gain some weight and add some more pass-rush moves to his repertoire. However, if a team is comfortable with him in his current form, off-ball linebacker work is likely his home in the league. He’ll need to continue to improve his anticipation as a coverage defender. This season, Reese has a 58.0 coverage grade with most of his coverage roles occurring when he is covering the running back into the flat or shallow crosses on mesh concepts – his running mate at the linebacker level, Styles, does more of the true drop back coverage for the Buckeyes, so that Reese can remain in attack mode. Reese reminds me a lot of former Texas A&M and now Green Bay Packers linebacker Edgerrin Cooper. Cooper had a fantastic rookie season for Green Bay in 2024, earning an 85.6 overall defensive grade after being picked at No. 45 in the second round. Reese is even bigger than Cooper while having similar responsibilities. 

Reese may have been relatively unknown heading into the season, but as one of the top players for the best team in college football, he’s well known now. Expect the tales of his talents to only continue as his production and tape represent that of a first-round pick.