Joel Klatt sees the world in Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese. Ahead of the 2026 NFL draft in a little over a month, Klatt described Reese to prospective front offices looking for a future star on the edge.
What he described is one of the most can't-miss linebacker prospects in five years or more, and someone who can acquiesce to any scheme, having adjusted to an "OTTO" role on the strong side the past two years after playing mostly special teams as a freshman and getting into the sport during his high school years.
Klatt predicted a future Defensive Player of the Year award win for Reese, who he essentially implied had an even higher ceiling than the former Penn State Nittany Lion Parsons.
“He’s so inexperienced. See, for quarterbacks, inexperience is a huge red flag, because you gotta have it to succeed. These other positions, like a position where Arvell is playing, inexperience is actually a green flag, ‘cause you’re like ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa, there’s so much upside there that you can capture with a guy like Arvell Reese. So he’s gonna continue to get better, he’s just capturing the surface, and I think he’s gonna be a great player," Klatt told Kay Adams on the Up & Adams podcast.
“He’s a longer, more physical Micah Parsons, and he’s just scratching the surface. So, Arvell just started for one year at Ohio State. And during that year, he just scratched the surface of playing on the edge. So he was an off-the-ball linebacker. And then he became kind of a hybrid, off-the-ball, on-the-ball type of player on the edge. And so he can do all the things from a versatility standpoint that Micah can do, and yet he’s just scratching the surface, and he’s bigger than Micah, and he’s longer than Micah."
“Now I think for him, his next step in maturation is becoming like a great first-step pass-rusher. And I think he can do that, ‘cause he’s incredibly explosive. But Arvell is the kind of guy that can have a Micah Parsons impact. I think he can be, at some point in his career, in the discussion for Defensive Player of the Year because of that: the way he can play in space, off-the-ball, on-the-ball, and impact the game, I think, is pretty special.”
Arvell Reese strongly rumored to land with Jets at No. 2. That might not be so bad
Look, it's never easy to hear a once-great Buckeye is at risk of wasting years of his career on the hapless New York Jets. If Reese goes to Gang Green, as has been strongly rumored, he'll end up with a head coach who can maximize his talent.
Aaron Glenn's best work as a defensive play-caller with the Detroit Lions saw EDGE rushers like Aidan Hutchinson thrive, but Jack Campbell also dominated in the middle. New Jets defensive coordinator Brian Duker tailors his schemes to his personnel.
If Reese ends up in East Rutherford, New Jersey, he might still be able to become the next Parsons. He just might not win many games in 2026, with Geno Smith returning to take over the QB1 mantle.