Arvell Reese, Sonny Styles to meet in Week 4: Did Giants make right choice between first-round linebackers? — SkimNews
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- Arvell Reese and Sonny Styles became the first college linebacker teammates to be selected in the top 10 of the same NFL Draft in April, with the Giants taking Reese at No. 5 overall before Washington grabbed Styles.
- Arvell Reese leads the entire NFL with 26 solo tackles and paces the Giants with 33 total tackles, earning Week 4 Rookie of the Week after a nine-tackle, one-TFL, three-PD, one-INT performance in a 36-24 win over Arizona.
- Sonny Styles earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week in Week 3 for becoming the first rookie linebacker in Commanders franchise history with an interception, a forced fumble, and multiple passes defended in a single game, and now leads all rookie defenders with at least 25 pass-rush snaps in pressure rate at 17.9%.
- Reese's pass-rushing ability from the off-ball linebacker spot has become even more critical after Giants edge rusher Brian Burns suffered a season-ending torn ACL; on his first 52 defensive snaps, Reese aligned on the line of scrimmage 11 times.
- Both Reese and Styles rank in the top five among rookie linebackers in PFF overall defensive grade, with Reese grading as the 9th-best linebacker in coverage and Styles 3rd in a sample of 74 qualified linebackers.
- Reese has the second-shortest odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year at +275, with Styles directly behind him at +750, per DraftKings.
Why it matters: The Giants landed a coin-flip outcome at No. 5: Reese and Styles both rank top-five among rookie linebackers in PFF overall grade and both sit in the top three of Defensive Rookie of the Year odds at +275 and +750, leaving New York with no reason to second-guess while setting up a rare Week 5 head-to-head showcase between two rookies on the same defensive trajectory.
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