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1. Arvell Reese, ILB, Giants. Play style: Explosive athlete with a nose for the ball, heavy hands and pass-rush juice Scheme: 2-high, 3-4 scheme. I’m intrigued by this fit. The Giants drafted Reese, who played inside linebacker but has the potential to be a strong pass rusher, a year after drafting Abdul Carter and trading for Brian Burns in 2024. At Penn State, like Reese, Carter also played inside linebacker but transitioned to playing edge. Carter and Burns will start on the edges and be backed up by Kayvon Thibodeaux, a Giants first-rounder in 2022.
All three edges are undersized (below 255 pounds), and Reese weighs 241 pounds. Reese’s tape playing inside linebacker was superb, and he should make an immediate impact on the second level. Going to a team where he doesn’t have to play full time on the edge will benefit him. The team also signed linebacker Tremaine Edmunds to be the mike linebacker, which will free up Reese to move around the front.
When asked which receivers he models his game after, Malachi Fields mentions Julio Jones, AJ Brown, Keenan Allen and Mike Evans:"They're the bigger guys but still can get in and out of routes and perfect their craft." pic.twitter.com/RZNaUb8mkE
New York Giants: Grade A. LB Jack Kelly: Kelly’s production is anchored by his pass-rush output, as he generated 128 pressures on 576 pass-rush snaps (22.2% pressure rate) across his career, with at least 28 pressures in each season and career pass-rush grades of 85.7 (2022), 91.1 (2023), 70.1 (2024) and 77.7 (2025). His overall grading profile has remained steady — above 60.0 in all four seasons, including a 68.7 mark in 2025 — with run-defense grades consistently in the mid-60s. At 6-foot-2, 240 pounds, he brings a physical, downhill presence with real juice as a blitzer, translating to disruption when attacking gaps.
The optimistic view of the Giants’ draft class is that they landed two of the top-five players on their big board, their No. 1-ranked available player entering the second round and multiple starters on both sides of the ball. The pessimistic view is that the Giants drafted an edge to play linebacker, a tackle to play guard and traded away too much for a part-time receiver. So, which is it? Overall draft class grade: A
New York Giants: Grade: B+. GM Joe Schoen found some decent value on Day 3 in prospects like Jack Kelly and J.C. Davis, though New York shouldn’t expect any starters to come from the sixth round. New York got a truly special prospect in Reese and managed to address some notable needs without truly reaching at any one spot.
New York Giants: A-. The only team with two top-10 picks came out of the first round a big winner, and it continued its hot start to the draft Friday when it grabbed Colton Hood. Trading into the third round for some necessary receiver help was a nice splash, too. Defensively, New York’s front seven just got even more fearsome. With the rest of the existing group of defenders, the Giants will be a problem for opposing offenses if they can find a replacement for Dexter Lawrence in the trenches. Maybe Bobby Jamison-Travis (No. 186) can be that guy.
Speaking of the trenches, adding protection for Jaxson Dart in the form of Francis Mauigoa is another tremendous use of a first-round pick. Renner projects him to move inside to one of the guard spots for now, which will also help Cam Skattebo and the running game.
The Ravens had a philosophy in Baltimore: Let the board fall and take the best player available.