Draft season is upon us, and the Washington Commanders have a chance to grab one of the best playmakers in this year's class.
The Commanders' 2025 season did not go as planned following their NFC Championship performance in 2024. A mixture of injuries and overall performance resulted in them finishing with a 5-12 record, including an eight-game losing streak from Weeks 6-14. Head coach Dan Quinn and general manager Adam Peters promised that changes would be coming, and so far, they have restructured their coaching staff with David Blough and Daronte Jones in as the new offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively. Their next task is to retool the roster, with changes likely coming on both sides of the ball.
The Commanders' first-round pick, which is the No. 7 overall selection this year, will play a critical role in that. There are several positions they could address with the pick, from pass rusher to receiver, but regardless of who they take, there's a good chance that player will be an immediate contributor.
Over the next few months, Commanders.com will highlight one mock draft from a draft expert each week to delve into how that player would fit with Washington. This week, we're heading to the ACC to break down one of the conference's best defenders.
Arvell Reese, EDGE, Ohio State
Ohio State's defense was full of versatile players last season, and Reese was no exception. As an outside linebacker, Reese was also used as a potent pass rusher with 6.5 sacks – a dramatic increase from 2024 -- and a terror for offensive linemen at the line of scrimmage.
Reese was already viewed as one of the most athletic players in the draft heading into the combine at Indianapolis, and he certainly helped his case during drills with a 4.46 40-yard dash. There are many analysts who believe he's elevated his draft status so much that he'll be long gone by the time the Commanders are on the clock.
However, if he is still there when the Commanders are ready to make the seventh overall pick, Reese's traits and skill set might be too good to pass up. That's what CBS Sports' Ryan Wilson thinks could happen in one of his latest mock drafts.
"Could Reese fall to No. 7? It seems like a long shot, but if the Bills trade up for a WR, things can get interesting quickly," Wilson wrote. "This is a best-case scenario for the Commanders, who have to upgrade their pass rush."
The Commanders have a need to upgrade their ability to put pressure on quarterbacks after ranking near the bottom in allowed time to throw. As if their fans needed more indication that addressing the position was part of the plan, Peters even mentioned the position unprompted in his end-of-season press conference, saying it was a spot they would like to get younger and faster at.
Reese would check both of those boxes. The 20-year-old from Cleveland is one of the youngest players in this year's class, but the consensus from analysts is that he plays with a level of intelligence beyond his years. ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr., who has Reese as his No. 3 player in the draft, wrote that Reese "jumps off the Ohio State tape" because of how he plays like a veteran.
The knowledge allowed Ohio State to move Reese around like a chess piece, and he excelled at nearly every spot. When he was lined up near the line of scrimmage, he showed quick instincts and a rare ability to run downhill to track down ball carriers. As a pass-rusher, he used his strength to bully offensive linemen and harass quarterbacks. Ohio State even used him as a quarterback spy at times because of his speed. As Kiper wrote later in his evaluation, Reese showed "natural instincts at the linebacker position that allow him to make plays most guys just can't make."
But there's also the metrics to consider. Although Reese only ran in the 40-yard dash, which means that he received an incomplete Relative Athletic Score (RAS), his 4.46 time, 2.62 20-yard split and 1.58 10-yard split were all considered "elite" by the prospect tracking system.
That blend of production and traits made him one of Ohio State defensive coordinator Matt Patricia's favorite players, and he made a strong case to Peter Schrager that Reese is one of the best players the class has to offer.
"When I see him, I smile," Patricia said. "I can't help it. He's just a joy. You have so much fun. He's a sponge. He wants to learn. He played on...and off the ball. When you watch his on the line of scrimmage work...his ability to set the edge of the defense, his explosive power that you see on tape, his ability to run speed to power pass rush, compress the pocket from the backside, it's pretty rare."
The main question surrounding Reese is where he will play at the NFL level. Reese himself said at the combine that he views himself as an outside linebacker/edge player, but he also admitted that coverage is an area of improvement for him. There are times, as NFL.com's Lance Zierlein wrote in his evaluation of Reese, when his lack of experience leads to him having a slower reaction time. It's possible that Reese could develop as a coverage player, but teams might view him as more of a pure pass-rusher, where he did most of his damage at the college level.
And that might be the best plan for him, because while there are several talented edge players in this year's class, NFL.com Daniel Jeremiah believes that's Reese's best path at the professional level.
"When he rushes off the edge, he flashes elite speed and bend," Jeremiah wrote. "He can overpower OTs, TEs and RBs when he has a runway."
Whatever team drafts Reese will need to have a strong plan for his development. He's still young, and while it's impressive what he can already achieve, he still has plenty of room to grow. Teams might have to be patient with him and deal with the mix of impact plays and growing pains that Reese will experience in his first few years.
However, if the projections are correct, Reese has the tools to have a bright future.
"He might need some runway to hit his stride, but his rare blend of traits, explosiveness and versatility could become a perfect storm of chaos once a defense decides how to deploy him," Zierlein wrote.
