{"id":787884,"date":"2026-03-03T00:39:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/787884\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T00:39:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T00:39:18","slug":"arvell-reese-passes-a-subtle-yet-critical-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/787884\/","title":{"rendered":"Arvell Reese passes a subtle yet critical test"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some (perhaps many) New York Jets fans experience trauma at the drop of a hat. It\u2019s understandable, thanks to the last decade and a half, yet it\u2019s the truth nonetheless. <\/p>\n

Only the very real scars of yesteryear could possibly lead the way when a once-a-decade defender like Arvell Reese is mentioned as the No. 2 pick<\/a> in the 2026 NFL draft. After all, the kid comes from Ohio State, the very same place that brought us Vernon Gholston. <\/p>\n

Pay no matter to the tape, a place that tells the story of Reese\u2019s rabid mindset \u2014 one where his transparent mean streak aims to put a dent in the opposition. Pay no mind to the fact that it was Gholston\u2019s stiff-as-a-board physique that greatly contrasts with Reese\u2019s \u2014 and actually compares more easily to David Bailey<\/a>. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat Ohio State name carries too much baggage\u201d is the oft-unspoken fan fear. <\/p>\n

Hey, I get it. But imagine a world that houses a kid whose on-field nastiness is matched by articulating the right things off the field. Or, more appropriately, on this occasion, refusing to say anything at all. <\/p>\n

While at the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine, Arvell Reese was pulled aside by Pro Football Talk<\/a>. Naturally, hosts Mike Florio and Chris Simms would rapid-fire familiar questions aimed to create the shot of a juicy soundbite. <\/p>\n

Again, hey, I get it; that\u2019s their job. Reese, however, refused to take the bait and provided the NFL media world with nothing. <\/p>\n

Simms tried his hand first by prodding the best player (arguably, alongside Caleb Downs) in this draft to commit to a favorite position. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re an amazing pass-rusher, and you\u2019re an amazing off-the-ball linebacker,\u201d Simms stated at the top. \u201cWhich one do you like doing better?\u201d<\/p>\n

Reese refused to jump at the question. Rather, he morphed into a semi-thinking man\u2019s pose, with his left hand up to his face and his right hand supporting the left elbow, parallel to the ground. <\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I like a certain position better, because my role was 50\/50 \u2014 50 percent of my snaps I was off-ball, (and) 50 percent of my snaps I was on the ball,\u201d Reese answered, after taking a few seconds to mull over the question. <\/p>\n

However, he added context that plenty of NFL franchises undoubtedly appreciated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate both of them (positions), but I see my future more (as an) outside linebacker (EDGE),\u201d Reese stated. <\/p>\n

He also confirmed that\u2019s the position most (if not all) of the teams he\u2019s met with envision for him at the NFL level. <\/p>\n

Not to be outdone, Florio gave Reese his best shot a few questions later, asking the top prospect about NFL quarterbacks. Florio asked him which quarterback name he would like to sack more than any other.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo quarterback,\u201d Reese said after a quick chuckle and another few-second pause, only this time, he kept shaking his head from side to side. <\/p>\n

After Simms jumped in to change the criteria to \u201chit,\u201d as opposed to just \u201csack,\u201d the results remained the same. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t think of anybody specifically,\u201d Reese answered. \u201cI have to be honest: I can\u2019t think of anybody I want to sack specifically, [nor] anybody I\u2019m trying to tackle \u2026 I\u2019m just ready to get there, honestly.\u201d <\/p>\n

That, folks, is how an NFL prospect avoids becoming the next headline-for-clicks soundbite. Jets head coach Aaron Glenn, a man who\u2019s always more-than-aware of his media surroundings, surely paid attention to this spot. <\/p>\n

For a kid who plays defense in a throwback-type fashion, where he has no problem banging in any direction, chucking the opposition backward, and throwing \u201chead-on-a-swivel\u201d caution to the wind, it\u2019s more than noteworthy to point out how well he harnessed that aggression while off-the-field in Indianapolis, Ind.<\/p>\n

Often, on-field aggression and off-the-field discipline don\u2019t align for a prospect. If the combine was any indication, that\u2019s not the case for this kid. <\/p>\n

Yes, New York Jets fans, Arvell Reese passed a subtle yet oh-so-critical test this past weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some (perhaps many) New York Jets fans experience trauma at the drop of a hat. It\u2019s understandable, thanks…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":787885,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2051],"tags":[1585,2222,7,3228,226,1917,255,2321,2097,6,15,1967,4403,6531,7824,3234],"class_list":{"0":"post-787884","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-jets","8":"tag-aaron-glenn","9":"tag-arvell-reese","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-free-content","12":"tag-jets","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-jets","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkjets","17":"tag-nfl","18":"tag-nfl-draft","19":"tag-nfl-scouting-combine","20":"tag-ny-jets-coaches","21":"tag-ny-jets-column","22":"tag-ny-jets-videos-highlights","23":"tag-standard"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116162459529136434","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=787884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/787884\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/787885"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=787884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=787884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=787884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}