Giants’ Arvell Reese called ‘very scary player’ amid NFL awards prediction originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The New York Giants had two top-10 picks in the 2026 NFL Draft, and they wound up selecting Arvell Reese at No. 5 overall and Francisco Mauigoa at No. 10 overall.
Both, through the first four weeks of the season, have been great. But of the two, only one appears to be a legitimate candidate, if not a front-runner, for an end-of-season NFL award. That player is obviously Reese.
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, in predicting that Reese is the current NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite, called the Giants’ rookie LB a “very scary player.”
Arvell Reese called ‘very scary player’ amid DROY prediction
“Reese is a very scary player,” Barnwell writes. “He has been on the field for over 99% of the defensive snaps for the Giants, opening the year in what has primarily been an off-ball linebacker role while leading the league in solo tackles (27).”
Barnwell ranked Reese as the No. 1 candidate for the NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award through four weeks, and he is more than deserving of such a label.
While there have been other impressive rookies to start the season, what Reese is doing for the Giants is nothing short of incredible.
His performance against the Arizona Cardinals best highlighted how game-wrecking he can actually be, even as an off-ball linebacker and not so much an edge rusher.
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Reese had a tackle for loss, an interception, a batted-down pass attempt, and a key pressure that led to a Jacoby Brissett interception.
As Barnwell put it, “… New York probably doesn’t beat Arizona on Sunday without him being the best player on the field.”
While Reese might not be producing elite pressure and sack numbers through four weeks, his overall impact on the defense for the Giants cannot be ignored.
The Giants rookie linebacker still has more than three quarters of the season to go before he can earn the DROY honor, but so far, so good.
Barnwell called him a “very scary player,” as Reese is turning into someone offenses have to game plan around, a very impressive feat as a rookie.