Arvell Reese resurfaces No.1

Arvell Reese is back at the top of one prominent draft conversation a week before the 2026 National Football League draft opens in Pittsburgh on April 23. (nytimes.com) The Athletic’s updated consensus board published April 14 moved Reese to No. 1 among 2026 prospects after compiling rankings across major outlets. ESPN published Jordan Reid’s final top-500 board the same day, but Reid had Reese outside his top two. (nytimes.com) (espn.com) Reid ranked Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love No. 1, Ohio State safety Caleb Downs No. 2 and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles No. 3 in his final board released April 14. Reese did not appear in ESPN’s top three even as he stayed in the top tier of the class. (espn.com) That split shows how unsettled this class remains at the top, especially on defense, where Reese, Downs and Styles all come from Ohio State and all have been discussed as early picks. The 2026 draft runs April 23 to April 25 in Pittsburgh. (espn.com) (nfl.com) Reese’s case starts with his 2025 season at Ohio State: 69 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, five quarterback hurries and two pass breakups. Ohio State listed him at 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds and named him a consensus All-American and the Big Ten Conference Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year. (ohiostatebuckeyes.com) His projection is complicated by position. Reese said at the National Football League scouting combine on February 25 that he sees himself as “an outside linebacker/edge,” not a traditional off-ball linebacker, after splitting duties in college. (espn.com) That distinction affects how teams stack him against other blue-chip defenders, because edge rushers are usually valued for sacks while off-ball linebackers are graded more on range, coverage and play recognition. National Football League Media’s combine profile lists Reese with a 4.46-second 40-yard dash and grades him among the top edge prospects in the class. (espn.com) (nfl.com) Other public boards still show less agreement than The Athletic’s latest update. The National Football League Mock Draft Database consensus board, updated early April 15, had Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza at No. 1 and Reese at No. 2 after aggregating 144 big boards. (nflmockdraftdatabase.com) The next test is not another ranking. It is whether a team picking near the top treats Reese as the first defender off the board when the clock starts in Pittsburgh next Thursday night. (nfl.com)