Reston Lehman

Physical Profile

6-4, 230 is a projectable edge frame rather than a finished one — long-limbed, high-cut, with obvious room through the chest, hips and lower half to carry 250-265 without losing bend. The height gives him natural tackle-length to stack and shed and to create passing lanes when he can't finish the rush; the current weight is the limiting factor, and he'll be functionally underpowered against ACC-caliber tackles until he adds 20-plus pounds. Athletically he is a plus mover for the frame — his lacrosse background (his father played at Arizona State and Pitt) shows up in change of direction and in genuine man-coverage reps, which is unusual for a body this size and is the trait that keeps an off-ball/SAM package on the table. Reported 6-4/220 at commitment and 6-4/230 by his senior season, so he has already demonstrated he can add weight on a normal curve.

Play Style

A high-effort, downhill disruptor who wins with first-step quickness, length and pursuit rather than power. On film he attacks the edge with a clean get-off, uses his frame to avoid getting hooked on reach blocks, and consistently arrives at the ball with bad intentions — the strip-sack and punch-out are clearly coached and clearly habitual. Against the run he's better working laterally down the line and chasing from the backside than he is holding ground into a double team. In coverage he is legitimately fluid for the size, capable of carrying a tight end vertically or matching a back in the flat, which is why the SAM/JACK hybrid usage made sense in high school. Tendency to watch for: he can play too tall coming out of his stance, which will get magnified against college-level hands.

Strengths

• Production against real competition, not projection: 80 tackles, 12 TFL, seven sacks, four forced fumbles and two blocked kicks as a senior in a WPIAL 5A title run where his defense shut out five opponents — and he made the game-deciding play (forcing a turnover on downs with 1:34 left) in a 20-19 championship win.
• Genuine three-down versatility. Head coach TJ Plack's evaluation — 'he moves extremely well, gets around the block, makes the big play' — is backed by three interceptions as a junior and by man-coverage ability developed through lacrosse. Very few 6-4 edges can be trusted in coverage; that is what let Pitt recruit him as a DE without giving up the LB fallback.
• Relentless, whistle-to-whistle motor and ball-disruption instincts. Four forced fumbles and two blocked kicks as a senior plus five career takeaway-producing plays as a junior (3 INT, 2 FF, 2 FR) is a pattern, not variance — he plays through contact to the football rather than settling for the tackle.
• Length and leverage tools to two-gap in a pinch, plus special-teams value on day one via the block ability.

Areas to Improve

• Play strength and mass. At 230 pounds he can be reduced by a 315-pound ACC tackle on down blocks and in the run game; anchoring at the point of attack against duo and gap schemes is the single biggest gap between where he is and a rotational role. A 250-260 target with retained bend is the developmental benchmark.
• Pass-rush plan and hand usage. His prep sack production came largely off effort, first-step advantage and second-effort chase rather than a defined counter tree. He needs a true primary move (long-arm fits his length), a counter off it, and consistent hand placement to convert speed to power — WPIAL tackles let him win with athleticism alone in a way ACC tackles will not.
• Positional identity. Recruited as an edge, listed as a linebacker, and now working with Pitt's defensive line — until his weight settles, his best fit is unresolved, which can slow technical rep accumulation at any one spot.

College Projection

This is no longer a projection — he is on campus. Lehman signed in December 2025, enrolled early in January 2026, and as of August 2026 fall camp is one of the young players in the mix on Pitt's defensive line alongside fellow freshmen Lincoln Hoke and Joshua Pittman. Realistic true-freshman outcome: special teams from day one plus situational pass-rush snaps in obvious passing downs, where his 230-pound speed is an asset rather than a liability. The honest timeline is a redshirt-or-limited 2026, a rotational edge role in 2027 at roughly 250, and a starting-caliber ceiling in years three and four. He is the profile that looks better in year three than year one — an in-state four-star developmental edge, not a plug-and-play one.

NFL Outlook

A legitimate draftable trajectory but a long one. The traits that translate — 6-4 length, coverage fluidity, motor, ball-disruption production — are exactly what NFL teams look for in a SAM/edge hybrid, and the four forced fumbles are a real evaluative check mark. The gate is mass and a pass-rush plan: he must prove he can play at 255-plus without losing the movement skills that made him special, and he must generate pressure with technique against ACC starters. If he does both, a Day 3 selection with special-teams-first entry is a fair projection; if he tops out as a coverage-capable but light edge who wins only on effort, he is a priority free agent. Too early for anything firmer than that — check back after his 2027 production.

Best Fit

An odd-front or multiple defense that lets him stand up as a JACK/SAM on the edge rather than asking him to put a hand down over a tackle at 230 — think 3-4 outside linebacker or a 4-2-5 with a designated rush/drop hybrid. He needs a program with a strength staff willing to spend two full offseasons on his frame and a coordinator who will use the coverage ability instead of treating it as a novelty. Pitt is a reasonable landing spot on both counts: staying in-state, an established defensive-line development pipeline, and a scheme with edge roles that vary snap to snap. Worst fit would be a pure two-gap even front that asks him to anchor immediately.