Welcome back to another year of the SB Nation Community Mock Draft!
NFL mock draft 2026: Jets select Arvell Reese, EDGE, Ohio State
Gang Green Nation grabs draft’s top athlete with the second overall pick in the 2026 SB Nation NFL community mock draft.
As we do every draft season, all 32 NFL sites at SB Nation come together to fill out an entire first-round mock draft leading up to the actual event that takes place from April 23-25. One by one, our site managers will make their picks and provide their reasoning behind the selection. From there, I will provide further analysis on top of giving a final opinion on the pick!
Without further ado, let’s keep things rolling!
With the second overall pick in the 2026 SB Nation Community Mock Draft, Gang Green Nation’s John Butchko and the New York Jets select Arvell Reese, edge rusher, Ohio State!
Here’s Butchko’s analysis:
NFL
SB Nation NFL Mock Draft: With the 2nd pick the New York Jets select...
Ohio State EDGE Arvell Reese
There's nothing the Jets would like more than to finally get their long-term answer at quarterback with the second pick in the NFL Draft. However, with Fernando Mendoza on his way to Las Vegas and Dante Moore staying at Oregon, there isn't a signal caller who makes sense here. So the Jets move to the most important spot on the defensive side of the ball, edge rusher. It happens to be a spot where they have a glaring need. Reese is a boom or bust type player. His physical ability is immense, but he doesn't have a ton of experience playing a true edge role. Aaron Glenn has expressed a lot confidence in his ability to coach guys with natural talent up so the Jets take the big swing on a player they believe has superstar potential.
Rec 5ReplyRead 7 replies
My analysis: The second pick in this year’s draft is going to be one of the most intriguing of the first round. With the top quarterback off the board, there’s a group of edge rushers that all have a shot at following Fernando Mendoza, but it’s going to depend on what the Jets value most in the position.
Butchko picks Reese here due to his immense level of natural athleticism that tends to transition very well to the next level. However, there’s still a case to be made for Texas Tech’s David Bailey who has much more proven experience and production under his belt. However, Bailey comes with some shortcomings of his own (including some character concerns) and that’s usually enough to help tip the scales elsewhere.
If Aaron Glenn truly believes in his coaching ability to get the most out of Reese as a rookie, then I am fully behind this pick. Guys like Reese don’t grow on trees, especially when it comes to a premium position like pass rusher.
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