Is Arvell Reese the BEST PLAYER in the 2026 Draft? Can he be an elite EDGE? | All-22 Breakdown
January 16, 2026
Is Arvell Reese the BEST PLAYER in the 2026 Draft? Can he be an elite EDGE? | All-22 Breakdown
13 comments
For me, Reese is the best player in the draft class. But yes, he is a projection. Had only 121 pass rushing snaps last year and a lot of those were blitzes.
For me, he’s an EDGE in the NFL and going to be an elite one. 35 inch arms, incredible athlete. Can easily carry 10-15 more pounds.
Even if he “fails”, you have one of the best Swiss Army knife prospects in the last decade.
Like his tape significantly more than Bain long term
What do you say for folks saying he’s isiah simmons 2.0
He’s my pick at #2 right now as well. I get why people aren’t sold, since he’s never played on the edge consistently. But I think it could be a Micah Parsons situation, where he has the skills and athletic profile to dominate as a pass rusher.
I think the current perspective I’ve landed on, as a self-proclaimed member of Downs Hive, is that if the Jets are going to lean edge and follow positional value, I’d prefer they take the home run swing. And that’s Reese. If he can reach the heights that *everyone* has for him, that is the blue chip foundational chaos agent that this defense has lacked for like decades.
Might as well go for broke. And while I don’t want to draft a bust at #2, I’d rather miss on an edge than a receiver or QB. If that makes any sense.
Reese is concentrated potential. He might be Micah parsons 2.0, it’s just a matter if you think the jets can bring that out of him.
Saw the picture and “most talented” and thought Vernon Gholston 😱
A Tweener who you will have to totally cater your whole defense to. Think of Jamal in Seattle, they let him do what he wanted and they had a horrible D .
This guy is not Micah parson he is not even abdul carter.
The jets may take him but I will not be happy about it. We may have no choice.
I respect the opinion on Reese because a lot of piece share it. I believe also that he will be a good player, but I feel a lot more confident he is a long term strongside standup than he is a pass rushing edge player at the next level.
To me, I don’t think the chances of him figuring out how to be a great edge rusher are high because he’s never shown the technical skills to do it. I think he’s a way more effective passrusher when he can find his own lanes from a standup position.
I don’t personally think it’s worth it to take him there because the standup class is so deep that you can bring in either a truly elite one in Sonny at 16 or another instantly startable option at 33. I also don’t think the edge class is great at the top, which puts us in a weird spot at 2 because our needs don’t match what think is the value of those guys.
Nice review, as always. In a draft where a lot of fans keep saying there’s no blue chip players, Reese sure sounds like one. I’d rather roll the dice on someone with elite athletic traits who has shown the potential to be a complete LB and edge rusher. If we draft him and Mougey convinces JFM to come back, this defense could be fun to watch next year.
With Downs, Bain, and Bailey there to be had I’m out on Reese.
If you want a great tackler, leader, and a QB of the defense pick Downs.
If you want an enforcer, good pass rusher, and great run defender at DE & DT take Bain.
If you want the best pure pass rusher who can scream off the edge take Bailey.
All of them are 3 year starters and Reese doesn’t do anything better than them.
No more projects or workout warriors.
I’m sure this has been covered at some point, but just curious how you got into this being an Aussie?
The Jets don’t need a tackle , so I agree with you he’s probably the best premium position player in the draft (could argue his team Downs is better, but he’s a safety).
Maybe!
He is micah parsons 2.0, nothing to overthink here
13 comments
For me, Reese is the best player in the draft class. But yes, he is a projection. Had only 121 pass rushing snaps last year and a lot of those were blitzes.
For me, he’s an EDGE in the NFL and going to be an elite one. 35 inch arms, incredible athlete. Can easily carry 10-15 more pounds.
Even if he “fails”, you have one of the best Swiss Army knife prospects in the last decade.
Like his tape significantly more than Bain long term
What do you say for folks saying he’s isiah simmons 2.0
He’s my pick at #2 right now as well. I get why people aren’t sold, since he’s never played on the edge consistently. But I think it could be a Micah Parsons situation, where he has the skills and athletic profile to dominate as a pass rusher.
I think the current perspective I’ve landed on, as a self-proclaimed member of Downs Hive, is that if the Jets are going to lean edge and follow positional value, I’d prefer they take the home run swing. And that’s Reese. If he can reach the heights that *everyone* has for him, that is the blue chip foundational chaos agent that this defense has lacked for like decades.
Might as well go for broke. And while I don’t want to draft a bust at #2, I’d rather miss on an edge than a receiver or QB. If that makes any sense.
Reese is concentrated potential. He might be Micah parsons 2.0, it’s just a matter if you think the jets can bring that out of him.
Saw the picture and “most talented” and thought Vernon Gholston 😱
A Tweener who you will have to totally cater your whole defense to. Think of Jamal in Seattle, they let him do what he wanted and they had a horrible D .
This guy is not Micah parson he is not even abdul carter.
The jets may take him but I will not be happy about it. We may have no choice.
I respect the opinion on Reese because a lot of piece share it. I believe also that he will be a good player, but I feel a lot more confident he is a long term strongside standup than he is a pass rushing edge player at the next level.
To me, I don’t think the chances of him figuring out how to be a great edge rusher are high because he’s never shown the technical skills to do it. I think he’s a way more effective passrusher when he can find his own lanes from a standup position.
I don’t personally think it’s worth it to take him there because the standup class is so deep that you can bring in either a truly elite one in Sonny at 16 or another instantly startable option at 33. I also don’t think the edge class is great at the top, which puts us in a weird spot at 2 because our needs don’t match what think is the value of those guys.
Nice review, as always. In a draft where a lot of fans keep saying there’s no blue chip players, Reese sure sounds like one. I’d rather roll the dice on someone with elite athletic traits who has shown the potential to be a complete LB and edge rusher. If we draft him and Mougey convinces JFM to come back, this defense could be fun to watch next year.
With Downs, Bain, and Bailey there to be had I’m out on Reese.
If you want a great tackler, leader, and a QB of the defense pick Downs.
If you want an enforcer, good pass rusher, and great run defender at DE & DT take Bain.
If you want the best pure pass rusher who can scream off the edge take Bailey.
All of them are 3 year starters and Reese doesn’t do anything better than them.
No more projects or workout warriors.
I’m sure this has been covered at some point, but just curious how you got into this being an Aussie?
The Jets don’t need a tackle , so I agree with you he’s probably the best premium position player in the draft (could argue his team Downs is better, but he’s a safety).
Maybe!
He is micah parsons 2.0, nothing to overthink here