Six lessons learned from NFL Week 9: Arvell Reese a superstar in the making, C.J. Stroud having career year

With the trade deadline today, I am reminded that self-awareness is of one of the best attributes an organization can have, from top to bottom.

The team that comes to mind immediately is one we’ve heard a lot from — not in a good way — this year: the Colts. Around this time last year, Indianapolis sent away two first-round picks for Sauce Gardner in a trade-deadline blockbuster. Indianapolis was 7-2 at the time, but was it really a team that needed to go all-in? No. Daniel Jones was playing so over-his-head well, and a smart front office would have recognized the great record was a product of a very soft schedule, a little bit of luck and an unprecedented hot streak. There was no rush here. The 2025 season was supposed to be a transition one, and a medium-sized cornerback addition would have been fine. Again, just a few months earlier, Indianapolis was basically taking a flyer on Jones.

You know how the rest of the story goes. Jones and the offense start to fall off, then Jones ruptures his Achilles. Now, the Colts are 2-7 and in the midst of a franchise-altering sale while not even owning their first-round pick. If the draft started today, Indianapolis would send the No. 4 pick to the Jets. Yikes!

The Jets, meanwhile, continue to profit in a big way off of that trade and the Quinnen Williams trade. They currently own the No. 4 (Colts’), No. 6 (their own) and No. 13 (Cowboys’) picks. They knew this would be a long process. They knew it could be ugly for a while, and this year’s 2-7 mark confirms that. But New York could have a terrific kickstart to their rebuild in a few months’ time.

One team fell for fool’s gold. The other knew exactly where it was and embraced its unenviable role.

The Jets are still waiting to fully invest in their rebuild. The other New York team? Well, it has already started — and is way ahead of schedule — thanks to a different type of self-awareness.

1. Arvell Reese is a superstar in the making

Please just watch these highlights first, then pick your jaw up from off the floor and continue reading below.

Some fun stats for you:

• Reese is the youngest player with a three-sack game since the stat became official for individuals in 1982 
• Reese is the only player in the NFL with 65 tackles, eight tackles for loss and an interception this season.
• Reese is the first rookie to hit all three of those milestones within his team’s first eight games since Luke Kuechly in 2012.

The biggest question surrounding Reese during the build-up to the NFL Draft was “Where do you play him?”

The answer should have been another question: “Why does it matter?”

And the Giants were exactly right to take that approach. Reese was an EDGE at Ohio State who moonlighted at off-ball linebacker. When the Giants initially drafted him, John Harbaugh basically said he’d play linebacker but also move around. Through eight games, Reese has now played at least 30 snaps at seven different spots: right inside linebacker, left inside linebacker, right linebacker, right EDGE, left linebacker, middle linebacker and left EDGE.

This is the way the NFL is trending. Think about guys such as Seattle’s Nick Emmanwori, technically a safety who really plays everywhere, and someone we’ve talked about in this column before. Reese is of that ilk: a truly, laughably absurd athlete. A weapon who transcends positional labels. His strip sack of Joe Milton happened in 2.29 seconds, the fastest sack of the year per Next Gen Stats.

Here’s where the self-awareness portion comes in. The Giants knew neither they nor Reese had to have it figured out on Day 1. The Giants are in Year 1 under John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson. Reese is 21 years old. The world was (and still is!) their oyster to experiment. Reese looks phenomenal. The Giants are 5-2-1 despite having started three different quarterbacks, and players such as Reese give them a bright future, too.

2. C.J. Stroud is the best quarterback you’re not paying attention to

I do not blame you if you didn’t watch — or even think twice (or once) — about the Texans-Chargers Week 9 matchup. The Chargers are unwatchable, and the Texans are middling after coming into the season with Super Bowl expectations.

What you missed and may have missed for much of this season, though, is C.J. Stroud playing outstanding football. He threw five touchdown passes Sunday, and his highlights ranged from heart-warming …

(Welcome back, Tank Dell!)

… to jaw-dropping.

Lest you think “Oh, it’s just the Chargers,” they’ve actually been decent on defense this year. This was just Stroud putting on a clinic. It’s been this way all year.

The Texans’ 3-5 record is mostly due to a surprisingly up-and-down defense and major struggles on the ground. DeMeco Ryans hasn’t been great situationally, either. Even if Houston doesn’t make the playoffs, Stroud’s play is huge for Stroud himself — he entered the year without an extension on his rookie deal — and for Houston, which can feel much better about handing Stroud said extension.

On a week in which Jordan Love and Joe Burrow stole the spotlight, don’t forget about Stroud.

3. The Vikings need to trade for a quarterback

Did you watch Monday night?

I could leave it there, but I won’t. Carson Wentz isn’t the answer — clearly. Kyler Murray has never looked comfortable in this offense. Is Geno Smith the answer? A reunion with Kirk Cousins? It can’t be worse than it’s been, and Minnesota simply cannot waste this defense again.

4. Jonah Coleman taking over the Broncos’ backfield is a good thing for Denver

Jonah Coleman recorded 17 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown and caught all four of his targets for 31 yards in the Broncos’ 26-21 win over the Panthers. He played 53 of Denver’s 65 snaps, second-most of any skill-position player behind Courtland Sutton. He also played nine of Denver’s 10 third-down snaps.

J.K. Dobbins, on the other hand, played just nine snaps overall, and zero on third down. After some injuries earlier this year, Coleman owns this backfield — especially until RJ Harvey returns — and that’s a good thing.

Coleman already has as many rushing touchdowns (three) as Dobbins has despite having less than half of Dobbins’ carries.

Let’s remember that Coleman is a fourth-round rookie, too. He should continue to get better. Denver’s reportedly been shopping around for running backs, but if it doesn’t land one, Coleman will emerge as an early-down bell cow (with Harvey more in the mix on late downs) down the stretch.

Just, please, Sean Payton, no more pitch plays in late-game, wind-the-clock scenarios. I think Bo Nix agrees.

5. Evan Williams is a star

We highlighted Evan Williams a few weeks ago, but that was really more about Jonathan Gannon. After a game that included an incredible interception, four pressures and five tackles, Williams gets his own slot here.

The four pressures were a season high for Williams, who blitzed a season-high eight times. On one blitz, he basically shoulder-checked Rhamondre Stevenson (a good pass-blocking back) to the side and forced a throwaway. On another, he didn’t get near Drake Maye but tracked back and limited Maye’s scramble to 3 yards. On his final blitz of the day, he ran right by Lan Larison and nearly got a strip sack.

Williams is a combination of a high-speed train and a bumper car attacking the quarterback. If you don’t try to stop him, he’ll chase you down, and when you do try to stop him, he bounces off and keeps going. He now has a ridiculous 38.2% pressure rate on 34 pass-rush snaps this season.

Oh yeah, and did we mention he can do this on the back end?

And this?

Now for the numbers:

• Williams is PFF’s No. 1-graded safety this year: first in coverage and sixth in rush defense.
• He makes a tackle on 15.5% of his snaps against the run, the fifth-highest rate among 84 defensive backs with at least 400 snaps entering “Monday Night Football.”
• Individual coverage tracking can be iffy, but Williams is allowing 3.8 yards per attempt as the primary defender, 10th out of 195 players who had been targeted at least 20 times entering “Monday Night Football.”
• His passer rating allowed — 36.2 — is even better: fourth out that same 195-player sample. For reference, throwing the ball incomplete every play would result in a 39.6 passer rating.

Good player. Really, really good player. All-Pro player.

6. The NFC South is approaching all-time bad territory

It was a rough week for the NFC South. The Falcons got shellacked by the Bengals in Madrid, the Panthers lost at home to the Broncos, and the Buccaneers wasted five Bears turnovers in a loss in Chicago. The division’s lone winner — the Saints — got an uninspiring 23-22 overtime win over Shedeur Sanders and the Browns. A failed two-point conversion is all that stood between the NFC South and an 0-4 week.

The 2026 NFC South is the only division ever with every team at least two games below .500 through Week 9. The Panthers and the Saints are 3-5, and the Buccaneers and the Falcons are 3-6. The combined 12-22 record is on pace to be the third-worst by any division since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger.

SportsLine currently does not project any NFC South team to reach eight wins. There’s never been a seven-win playoff team in the 17-game era (since 2021).

But SportsLine projections also has every team reaching at least six wins, setting up for some major late-season drama. Remember last year, when the Buccaneers beat the Panthers to take the NFC South lead in Week 18, only for Carolina to win the division thanks to a tiebreaker because the Falcons beat the Saints the next day? Yeah, prepare for some weirdness.