Arvell "Vell" Reese
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Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese.
In terms of changing your name, this one won’t be too hard to remember.
Ohio State superstar and projected 1st round draft pick Arvell Reese debuted his new name at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Wednesday — a simple switch to just Vell Reese.
“Note: ArvellReese’s nameplate says just ‘Vell,’ ” uStadium wrote on its official X account.
“Vell Reese now,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on his official X account.
The name change wasn’t the only news Reese broke about himself on Wednesday. He also indicated that he expects to play edge rusher in the NFL instead of inside linebacker, where he earned All-American honors for the Buckeyes in 2025.
Reese said he’ll do both edge rusher and linebacker drills at the combine. Both groups will go through their paces on Thursday.
Big Reason Why Reese Wants Edge Rusher Status
It’s pretty easy to understand why Reese, 6-foot-4 and 243 pounds, wants to go into the NFL as an edge rusher and not an inside linebacker. That reason is money.
The highest paid inside linebacker in the NFL, San Francisco 49ers All-Pro Fred Warner, is playing on a 3-year, $63 million contract which pays him approximately $21 million per year.
The highest paid edge rusher in the NFL, Green Bay Packers All-Pro Micah Parsons, signed a 4-year, $186 million contract in August 2025 which pays him approximately $46.5 million per year.
“My TOP player in the draft and has been since September is Arvell Reese from Ohio State … he falls somewhere in between Micah Parsons and Jalon Walker,” The Athletic’s Dane Brugler said on The Ross Tucker Podcast on Tuesday.
Reese Projected at No. 4 Overall in Latest Mock Draft
There’s little doubt Reese is going to drop out of the Top 10 picks — there’s even a chance he could go in the Top 5 picks.
ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has Reese projected to the Tennessee Titans at No. 4 overall in his Mock Draft 2.0, with the caveat that his position is still yet to be determined.
“Reese’s instincts and burst are all over the tape,” Kiper Jr. wrote. “I’m still ranking him as a linebacker at the moment, and he could help Tennessee there. But new coach Robert Saleh might very well move him to the edge, where he played the majority of the time in 2025. Although the Titans’ 42 sacks tied for 12th most last season, 11 of them came from defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons on the interior. The edge is a weakness. Reese could be a high-impact player in this unit no matter where he lines up.”
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski called the Commanders the “Perfect Landing Spot” for Reese.
“Once upon a time, Dan Quinn unleashed Micah Parsons onto the NFL and the hybrid defender wreaked havoc,” Ballentine wrote. “Quinn has since become the head coach of the Washington Commanders thanks to his tenure as Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator, but he hasn’t had anyone in Washington who can be used in a similar manner to Parsons. To be fair, Ohio State’s Arvell Reese isn’t the same caliber of prospect compared to Parsons. A correlation still exists, because the pair of Big Ten products have skill sets to be used all over the defensive front seven as either off-ball linebackers or pass-rushers.”