{"id":856749,"date":"2026-04-06T11:31:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-06T11:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856749\/"},"modified":"2026-04-06T11:31:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-06T11:31:25","slug":"jets-favor-arvell-reese-at-no-2-overall","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/856749\/","title":{"rendered":"Jets Favor Arvell Reese At No. 2 Overall?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the Raiders all but guaranteed to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza<\/a> first overall, there is more intrigue surrounding the Jets at No. 2. A pair of Ohio State linebackers, Arvell Reese<\/a> and Sonny Styles<\/a>, as well as Texas Tech edge defender David Bailey<\/a> are candidates for New York\u2019s top selection. Still two-plus weeks away from having to make a decision on April 23, the Jets are \u201cleaning toward\u201d Reese, Rich Cimini of ESPN<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: Jets, Cardinals Could Take Similar Approach]<\/a><\/p>\n

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Reese\u2019s versatility may tip the scales in his favor as the Jets transition to a 3-4 base defense that will use multiple fronts. As Cimini notes, Reese played 356 snaps at outside linebacker and 238 as an off-ball LB in 2025. Reese handled all responsibilities with aplomb during a season in which he earned consensus All-America honors and Big Ten Linebacker of the Year. The 6-foot-4, 241-pounder totaled 69 tackles, 10 TFL and 6.5 sacks over 14 games.<\/p>\n

Although Reese did not post gaudy numbers in 2024 (43 tackles and a half-sack in 16 games), Jets head coach Aaron Glenn<\/a> is unconcerned. In that regard, Glenn likens Reese to Texans five-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter<\/a>, who recorded just 4.5 sacks in three years at LSU. Hunter has since racked up 114.5 during a prolific decade in the pros.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis stats weren\u2019t up there, but he had all the traits and he\u2019s had a coach that can coach him to be where he\u2019s at right now,\u201d Glenn said of Hunter (via Cimini). \u201cSo I look at [Reese] the same way. Man, it\u2019s a combination of the traits and this combination of the football character again. Is that player coachable enough to be able to do the things that you want him to do to be successful?\u201d<\/p>\n

By now, Glenn and the Jets should have a good idea of whether Reese is \u201ccoachable.\u201d Jets brass took extra time to meet<\/a> with Reese at Ohio State\u2019s pro day in late March. They also dined with Reese in Columbus, per ESPN\u2019s Jeremy Fowler<\/a> (via Cimini). If the Jets draft Reese, it would give them another pass rusher to join holdover Will McDonald<\/a> and free agent pickups Joseph Ossai<\/a> and Kingsley Enagbare<\/a>. He would also supply another off-ball option to a team that reunited with Demario Davis<\/a> in free agency and has Jamien Sherwood<\/a> entering the second season of a three-year, $45MM deal.<\/p>\n

Turning to other early draft possibilities for the Jets, it would count as \u201can upset\u201d if they pass on taking a wide receiver sometime in the first two rounds, Cimini writes. No. 1 receiver Garrett Wilson<\/a> and Adonai Mitchell<\/a> will play big roles in 2026, but the Jets have little else at the position. Considering the team owns four of the draft\u2019s top 44 picks, that could change soon.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the Raiders all but guaranteed to draft Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza first overall, there is more intrigue…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":856750,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2026],"tags":[4955,2222,7,255],"class_list":{"0":"post-856749","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-2026-nfl-draft","9":"tag-arvell-reese","10":"tag-football","11":"tag-new-york-jets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116357543983617056","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856749","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=856749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/856749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856750"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=856749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=856749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}