Arvell Reese is heading to the NFL. The Ohio State edge rusher\/linebacker announced that he\u2019s declared for the 2026 draft, per ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter.
\nReese is generally considered the top defensive prospect in this year\u2019s draft, with some pundits even considering him as the top player in the class. While he might not be selected in the top-two considering the Raiders\u2019 and Jets\u2019 need for a franchise QB, he\u2019ll surely be selected within the top-five picks. ESPN\u2019s Jordan Reid recently had Reese going fourth-overall to the Titans, but there\u2019s a chance he may not fall past the Cardinals at No. 3.
\nReese mostly played linebacker this season at Ohio State, although many teams would likely target him for an edge role in the NFL. Despite only getting into 97 snaps at the position in 2025, Reese still ranked seventh in the FBS in pressure rate (18.5%). Scouts have lauded his explosiveness and physicality, and his versatility could prove to be an asset as a professional.
\nThe prospect had a rapid rise up the draft rankings in 2025. While his 2024 campaign put him on the NFL map, he solidified himself as a top prospect with a breakout performance this past year. He ultimately finished the season with 69 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks, earning him a consensus All-American nod and the Big Ten Linebacker of the Year award. He was also a finalist for the Butkus Award, which is given annually to the top linebacker in college.
\nAs ESPN\u2019s Jake Trotter notes, Reese joins wide receiver Carnell Tate and safety Caleb Downs as Buckeye players who have declared for the draft this week. Both Tate and Downs are also expected to hear their names called in the first half of the first round.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Arvell Reese is heading to the NFL. The Ohio State edge rusher\/linebacker announced that he\u2019s declared for the 2026 draft,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1093\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.demoviewer4.com\/keith-ponder\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}