New York Giants rookie linebacker Arvell Reese dominated Week 4 against the Arizona Cardinals with nine solo tackles, a tackle for loss, three passes defensed, a quarterback hit, and his first career interception in a 36-24 win. According to him, only his team and the Minnesota Vikings told him to play as an inside linebacker.
According to Jordan Raanan of ESPN, “Most of the league projected Reese as an outside linebacker coming out of Ohio State, but the Giants saw him as an inside linebacker.” Reese told ESPN this week that he recalls only two teams telling him he would be an inside linebacker at the NFL level: the Giants and Minnesota Vikings.
“Everyone else pretty much said ‘he’s an edge guy,” Reese said. Hence, this was a next-level read for the Giants, who have a potential Defensive Rookie of the Year in their hands. To be fair with the rest of the franchises, Reese did say at the NFL scouting combine that he was an oustide linebacker/edge.
Where did Reese play for Ohio State in CFB?
Reese played 238 snaps as an inside linebacker, and 356 as an outside linebacker in his final year with the Buckeyes. So, he wasn’t really lying. However, it’s still plenty of snaps played at ILB. The Giants received positive feedback on Reese for his performance.
For Giants head coach John Harbaugh, it’s easy, “I would answer it this way — that’s what he played. So, it was easy. You watched him on tape and he played it really well… but he played it really well at Ohio State against the best teams in the country in a pretty complicated defensive system that they have over there. So, yeah, it was, to me, the evidence was right there,” he said.
Reese is a clear-cut game-changer for the NY Giants
Reese has absolutely transformed the New York Giants defense and emerged as a frontrunner for NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. Selected No. 5 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, he has quickly silenced critics who questioned the Giants’ decision to play him as an off-ball, inside linebacker rather than a pure edge rusher.
Oh and by the way, according to Reese, this isn’t even close to his best level. In fact, he labeled his Week 4 breakout performance as just “decent.” Therefore the Giants must be ecstatic to see what “good” or “great” looks like for Reese.
Key takeaways
- Arvell Reese posted nine solo tackles and his first career interception in Week 4.
- Only the Giants and Vikings projected Reese as an inside linebacker during pre-draft evaluations.
- Head coach John Harbaugh praised Reese’s film against top collegiate programs at Ohio State.
