Arvell Reese admits he's still refining pass rush: Elite ceiling or red flag?

Ohio State Buckeyes' Arvell Reese is projected to go with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft because his upside as a pass rusher makes him a terrifying prospect off the edge.

This week, an admission from Reese in an interview with ESPN's Benjamin Solak laid bare something scouts have been discussing for months.

Reese's pass rush is raw. He's disruptive, explosive and instinctive, but the technical refinement that separates good edge rushers from great ones is still a work in progress.

While discussing a specific play Solak was replaying for him, Reese revealed that he "didn't have a name for what he just did."

"Now that I'm working on pass rushing right now, and studying and everything, I'm realising right here, I show power, which made him shoot his hands, and that's when I threw the cross-chop," he added.

Reese's comments brought the debate back into focus. Is Reese an untapped talent with a terrifying ceiling, a raw prospect who's too much of a gamble at No. 2, or a mix of both?

The Pros: Productive despite being raw

Reese spent more time in an off-ball role in Matt Patricia's Buckeyes defense, but when tasked with rushing the passer, he picked up 6.5 sacks.

He generated 27 pressures on 119 pass-rush attempts, giving him an incredible 22.7% pressure rate.

That's elite efficiency based on feel and instinct, before the technical side of his game is anywhere near its ceiling.

Matt Patricia put it best: "There's the explosive power and that raw ability that he showed last year, but a lot of those calls he made on the field. And I think you see there that football IQ is at a high level."

He was reading blocks and manipulating them with his hands without anyone teaching him how. Add a move sheet to that brain, and his upside is undeniably mouthwatering.

The bottom line of this argument is that you cannot teach athleticism, but you can refine technique.

The Cons: The NFL won't wait for him to figure it out

At the NFL Combine, Reese acknowledged he has a long way to go, telling reporters, " I haven't even scratched the surface with really what I can do pass rushing ."

At Ohio State's pro day, many onlookers criticised his bend.

Further evidence, perhaps, that he's got further to go in terms of technique than other top edge rushers such as Rueben Bain or David Bailey.

Throw on Reese's tape, and there are moments when he looks like the best player on the field. Flashes of pure brilliance.

However, as he admitted when asked to describe his pass-rush approach in his NFL Combine interview, it's all about "speed and power".

Pro-level offensive tackles are obviously faster and stronger than their college counterparts, meaning Reese won't win as often with the same approach in the NFL.

The NFL is more patient with players taken early in their respective drafts, but unless Reese shows signs of progression relatively early in his career, that patience will wear thin. We've seen the same thing happen with other top prospects time and time again.

The verdict from DAZN's Jason Abbey

Edge rushers rarely hit out of the gate. It's a position that takes time, reps, and experience to master.

Experience isn't everything in a college prospect, of course, but the fact that Reese had only one year as a full-time starter at the college level, and only 960 snaps in total, suggests he may take a little longer than others to reach his ceiling.

Whoever calls his name on 23 April is clearly betting on the upside. He's a gamble, and that may be a sufficient reason for someone like Bailey to go above Reese.

However, Reese's mouthwatering traits and his (albeit limited) track record of production despite not focusing on refining his craft suggest his ceiling could make him the most tantalising defensive player in the 2026 NFL Draft.