What makes Giants rookie LB Arvell Reese one of the best tacklers in the NFL?

Arvell Reese’s first position playing football wasn’t linebacker. It was running back. But even when he was a child, there were signs that the Giants rookie loved to initiate contact, even against his older brother.

“When I was 3 years old, I’d be running on the field while he’s playing, tackling him while they’re practicing,” Reese recalled Thursday. “He’s about 7, I’m 3, 4 years old running on the field, so it’s just always been in me to just run people over.”

That instinct never faded when he switched to linebacker as a high school junior. Now in his first NFL season, Reese is earning a reputation of being a sound tackler.

The Giants’ first-round pick leads the NFL with 26 solo tackles in four games heading into Sunday’s contest against the Commanders. He’s armed with the quickness, power and technique to bring a ballcarrier down.

Consider a play last week against the Cardinals. On third-and-9 in the second quarter, Reese dropped back in coverage, then flew toward Cardinals running back Tyler Allgeier, who caught a short pass. Reese’s speed put him in great position, and when Allgeier tried to spin away, Reese wrapped him up and flung him out of bounds.

Although it was a highlight play that forced a punt, he didn’t think he did anything special other than fulfilling his responsibility to cover Allgeier’s area.

“I don’t know, man. When it happened, it just really happened,” Reese said. “Just taking the right angle, closing out fast and really not slowing down.”

It showed the best of his skill set: Incredible end-to-end speed and athleticism. Sound tackling. Power to wrap up the 220-pound Allgeier. On a day when Reese had his first NFL interception along with a quarterback hit that led to an interception by Greg Newsome II, that sequence was arguably his best play.

It also shows that Reese rarely whiffs when finishing a tackle. According to NextGenStats, his 97.1% tackle efficiency rate, which measures how often a defender doesn’t miss when tackling, puts him second in the league behind Seattle linebacker Ernest Jones IV among players with at least 30 tackles.

John Harbaugh said Reese’s tackling was something the Giants loved when they evaluated him during the draft. Reese is what he called a “no-hesitant” tackler who can quickly get to the ball and not give a player room to get around him.

“You got to be good to do that because if you’re going that way and the ballcarrier is coming the other way, you can miss when you do that, too,” Harbaugh said. “So he’s got that unique kind of just talent to get there quickly and still hit his target.”

Reese, who had a career-high 12 tackles in Week 3, chalked it up to having hit players as a ballcarrier. He carried the same mentality when he began playing defense as a high school junior. A year later, he got better with the finer points of playing linebacker.

“I was just running around having fun,” Reese said. “In my senior year, I had coach Morgan Norris; that’s when we got technical with the linebacker work. So I guess you could say it started there.”

His technique improved at Ohio State when he worked with linebackers coach James Laurinaitis.

Harbaugh and Giants defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson raved about how Reese rarely missed assignments in OTAs and training camp. If he did make a mistake, he didn’t repeat it.

Then there’s that speed. Reese’s 4.46 40-yard dash time was tops among edge rushers at the NFL Combine, and his fastest 10-yard split (1.58) tied for the best at his position.

When the Giants moved him to inside linebacker, that quickness translated to chasing down running backs and moving sideline to sideline with ease. Reese’s new teammates also were impressed by how swiftly — and violently — he could make tackles without missing his mark.

“He’s able to close distances quick, obviously using his length, his speed, using his play recognition to his advantage, and just some of the stuff that we practice in practice,” inside linebacker Tremaine Edmunds told Newsday.

“He’s got killer instinct,” outside linebacker Abdul Carter said. “When he’s out there, it’s like you tap into a different mode, and whenever you’re on the field, you can see it.”

All of that has helped Reese excel as one of the NFL’s top defensive rookies and helped to fuel the Giants’ 3-1 start.

It’s a long way away from being a kid who took joy in tackling his older brother.

But Reese knows better days are ahead for him. So do the Giants, who think their rookie linebacker can continue to mature as a great tackler and playmaker.

“He is a force of nature when he’s on the football field,” Wilson said. “And we expect him to keep getting better and better.”

By Evan Barnes

evan.barnes@newsday.comevan_b

Evan Barnes covers the Giants for Newsday. He previously covered the Brooklyn Nets, Memphis football and the Memphis Grizzlies and also covered prep sports in Los Angeles.