Arvell Reese might have a future as an edge rusher, but the New York Giants will deploy the No. 5 overall pick as an off-the-ball linebacker in his rookie campaign.
In an interview on NFL Network's The Insiders on Thursday, Big Blue general manager Joe Schoen confirmed Reese would play an off-ball role, but could be used anywhere in the formation.
"Yeah, he's going to be an off-the-ball linebacker for us and play Will, and I love the versatility," Schoen said, confirming coach John Harbaugh's stance from draft night. "Can he play some edge for us? Absolutely. Can we have him cover tight ends? Absolutely. He can play Will linebacker and play sideline to sideline. He's a freakish athlete with tremendous size and length and violence.
"So, I'm excited about him, and our coaches are, as well, how they're going to deploy him and use him on the defense with some of the pieces that we currently have. Brian Burns has versatility, Abdul Carter, Kayvon (Thibodeaux). Then you add a piece like Arvell Reese, playing next to Tremaine Edmunds. So, really excited about how that's going to transpire this fall, and I like a lot of the pieces that we have in the defense, and we have a very good defensive staff, and excited to see how it all comes together."
Deploying Reese from the second level makes sense for the Giants, who have options on the edge but lack pop in the middle of the defense. The playmaking Ohio State product gives new defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson options for pass rush packages on third downs.
With Thibodeaux's long-term future likely not in New York, Reese could eventually become a bigger contributor as an edge rusher, but for Year 1, it makes sense to deploy the rookie at the Will spot. It enables the Giants to ensure he's on the field and provides flexibility.
The additions of Reese, fellow first-rounder Francis Mauigoa and others, the hiring of Harbaugh and a projected second-year leap for quarterback Jaxson Dart have the Giants believing they can make a swift turnaround after a 4-13 campaign.
"Yeah, I would think so," Schoen responded when asked if his team is ready to compete now. "And yeah, you're right, we only won four games, and that's not good enough. We had five games where we had leads in the fourth quarter, some of those double digits, and you would have liked to have been able to close them out. Then, two finalists for Offensive and Defensive Rookie of the Year. So there's some foundational pieces here, and we were in those games last year. I wish we would have finished a little bit better.
"But with the offseason additions through free agency and the draft, I really like where the roster is now -- defensively, the inside linebacker room, the pass rush, add in Colton Hood, Sisi (Mauigoa) in the draft, bringing Jermaine Eluemunor back, a healthy Malik Nabers with (Isaiah) Likely, we drafted Malachi Fields. So, certainly excited about some of the additions this offseason. How that's going to transpire into the fall, we'll see. But right now, the guys are working really hard in the voluntary offseason program, and the rookies will come in next week. So it's about those guys building chemistry and coming together and being able to go out and do it on Sundays."
The Giants have finished with six or fewer wins in each of the past three seasons and haven't had a double-digit win campaign since 2016.
