Preliminary 2026 DE/ER preview … Needless to say the QBs are almost assuredly going to get most of the national media attention as we head toward the 2026 draft (which for those that keep track of these things is now less than 300 days away!) However, a pretty good case can be made that the defensive ends/edge rushers are likely going to be the dominant positional grouping next April. TJ Parker of Clemson, for example, appears to be pretty close to the consensus top non-QB prospect, and potentially the #1 guy overall, while Keldric Faulk of Auburn and Miami’s Reuben Bain also have a top 5-10 potential. More than a few scouts, though, will tell you that the DE with the highest upside this year is Matayo Uiagalelei of Oregon. the brother of former Clemson/Florida State QB DJ Uiagalelei; he’s 6-4, 270 with the athleticism to perhaps get some snaps at TE this fall and is coming off a breakout season in which he posted 10 sacks. A couple of things to note though. First, all 4 of these guys are 3rd year players who will have at least another year of college eligibility after the 2025 season and with all the NIL money being thrown around these days are no locks to enter the upcoming draft no matter how they grade out. At the same time, it is interesting to note that the two DEs that pro teams would really like to get their hands on are true sophomores Darien Stewart of South Carolina and Texas’ Colin Simmons, however neither will be draft eligible until 2027.
Even if none of those players opts to enter the 2026 draft, there will still be talent at the position, although more along the lines of late-first, early second round types. LT Overton of Alabama, for example, at 6-5, 285, is arguably the top prototype 3-4 DE prospect; indeed, his career track to date is somewhat similar to that of for former Texas A&M Shemar Stewart, the 17th player selected this past April, in that Overton has all the physical tools of a top prospect, but thru three years to date, he has only posted 3 sacks. At the same time, there is a fairly deep group of second-tier edge rushers including David Bailey, who transferred from Stanford to Texas Tech, Penn State’s Dani Dennis-Sutton, Mikail Kamara of Indiana and Gabe Jacas of Illinois. That group could also include the LSU duo of Harold Perkins and Patrick Payton, both of whom were being thought of as potential top 10 prospects at this time last year, but Perkins missed most of the season after tearing an ACL in the Tigers’ opener, while Payton just never got going last fall at Florida State. Meanwhile, other DE/ERs pro scouts with the potential to move up this year include Trey Moore of Texas, Derrick Moore of Michigan, Jayden Virgin-Morgan of Virginia Tech, Oklahoma’s R Mason Thomas and Trey White of San Diego State, the leading returner sacker in college football this fall after posting 12.5 last season.
