2027 NFL Draft EDGE Rankings: Top 25 list features future All-Pros, situational pass rushers, and high-upside intrigue
The 2027 NFL Draft is littered with intriguing EDGE prospects. Who are the early names to know and risers to follow?
The 2027 NFL Draft edge rusher class has the potential to be one of the strongest position groups in the entire draft.
With summer scouting nearing its conclusion and the college football season just weeks away, it is time to take an early look at the top 25 edge rushers who could hear their names called next April. From elite speed rushers with All-Pro ceilings to effort-driven defenders searching for a rosterable home, this group features a wide range of talent and traits worth tracking throughout the fall.
This ranking was also discussed in detail on this week’s edition of Best Pod Available alongside my co-host Joe DeLeone. The conversation reinforced a critical point about evaluating any draft class: it starts at the top. Are there legitimate difference-making talents, blue-chip players who can anchor a defense? From there, you assess the depth through Day 2 and into the Day 3 rounds.
This edge class checks both boxes.
The top tier
South Carolina’s Dylan Stewart sits at No. 1. From a length, explosiveness, and bend perspective, Stewart has elite-level traits to be a major difference-maker at the NFL level. Production has been sporadic over the past couple of years, and the 2025 season was somewhat down due to a recurring back issue. That back injury is a little unsettling, but based on the latest update from head coach Shane Beamer, it sounds like Stewart will be at full health soon. If healthy, he has All-Pro upside as a speed rusher with all the tools in the toolbox, provided he continues to add weight and core strength.
Texas EDGE rusher Colin Simmons comes in at No. 2. He is a little more compact than Stewart but denser, with a better overall plan of attack right now. He plays with good hands, a good level of bend, and an advanced bag of pass rush moves for a player his age. Simmons is reportedly up to 255 pounds now, so watching how his power profile improves heading into the 2026 season will be key. If he adds that speed-to-power element, the conversation shifts to a complete rusher who should go somewhere in the top 10.
Alabama’s Yhonzae Pierre rounds out the top three. After buying some time early in his career, Pierre finally had his breakout last season. The redshirt junior has an impressive blend of explosiveness and closing speed, providing the versatility to work as a stand-up rusher or a traditional edge. His game carries some Kyle Van Noy flavor in how he can operate in space and off ball, but getting after the passer will be the name of the game.
The next wave
Louisville’s Clev Lubin (No. 4) brings an interesting body type at a hair over 6-2 and 267 pounds, but the explosiveness and nuance he flashes as a pass rusher give him a high floor. Multiple counter moves off his initial rush stand out on film.
Clemson’s Will Heldt (No. 5) is a massive defensive end at around 6-7 and 260 pounds, a former Purdue transfer whose closing speed for his size is notable.
Ohio State’s Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (No. 6) looks the part at 6-6 and 265 pounds but has yet to put it all together consistently.
Notre Dame’s Boubacar Traore lands at No. 7. Traore is long, explosive, and still has upside to tap into after showing flashes as a redshirt sophomore. The question is how much more explosiveness returns another year removed from a 2024 ACL injury. He didn’t quite look as explosive as he did previously, but the baseline upside is still there, and if that explosiveness does come back, Traore could begin to skyrocket up boards.
Day 2 and Day 3 names to watch
Arkansas’ Quincy Rhodes Jr. (No. 8), Texas A&M’s Anto Saka (No. 9), and Michigan’s John Henry Daley (No. 10) round out the top 10. Daley is still coming back from an Achilles injury suffered last year, so there is no full timetable for his return. Oregon’s Matayo Uiagalelei (No. 11) and Oklahoma’s Taylor Wein (No. 12) are solid players whose ceilings could be limited by a lack of one elite trait.
Further down the board, Memphis edge JaJ’Mond Tapp (No. 16) stands out as a mid-to-late-round sleeper with a unique body type and surprising coordination. Indiana’s Joshua Burnham (No. 23), a Notre Dame transfer, showed quality run-game film last season, but the pass rush upside has been nonexistent to this point.
The 2026 college football season will provide clarity on several of these rankings. Health, development, and expanded roles could push multiple players into the first-round conversation, while others may settle into Day 3 projections. This edge class has the talent at the top and enough depth throughout to make it one of the premier position groups in the 2027 NFL Draft.
TOP-25 EDGE RANKING
- Dylan Stewart (South Carolina)
- Colin Simmons (Texas)
- Yhonzae Pierre (Alabama)
- Clev Lubin (Louisville)
- Will Heldt (Clemson)
- Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (Ohio State)
- Boubacar Traore (Notre Dame)
- Quincy Rhodes (Arkansas)
- Anto Saka (Texas A&M)
- John Henry Daley (Michigan)
- Matayo Uiagalelei (Oregon)
- Taylor Wein (Oklahoma)
- Anthony Smith (Minnesota)
- Damon Wilson (Miami)
- AJ Green (Louisville)
- J’Mond Tapp (Memphis)
- Mi’Quise Humphrey-Grace (Kentucky)
- Oluwatobi Osunsanmi (Indiana)
- Tre Smith (Arizona)
- Princewill Umanmielen (LSU)
- Melkart Abou-Jaoude (UNC)
- Adam Trick (Texas Tech)
- Joshua Burnham (Indiana)
- Teitum Tuioti (Oregon)
- Tre White (Texas Tech)