Everyone knows that quarterbacks are the most valuable players on the football field. But if anything has been proven over the first half of this college football season, it is that the best prospects in this class play defense.
In today’s pass-happy NFL, edge rushers are prioritized more than any other non-quarterback, and this class is flush with both quantity and quality at the position.
Much will change between now and April, but if the draft were held today, each of the 10 prospects listed below would almost certainly be first-round selections.
Player sizes and classes are from their respective school bios.
From a statistical perspective, Bain’s 2025 campaign has not lived up to expectations. His two sacks (and 3.5 tackles for loss) through six games of the season are a far cry from the 7.5/12.5 breakout he posted two years ago as a freshman. The numbers, however, don’t do Bain justice. He is a well-rounded defender whose instincts, power and tenacity project quite well to the next level. He has a compact, powerful frame which allows him to consistently control opponents at the point of attack and quickly discard them when a ballcarrier is near, making him very effective as a run defender. There is a violence to Bain’s game that will endear him to scouts.
He is more smooth than truly sudden off the edge as a pass-rusher, but he does time the snap well and possesses the hand strength and coordination to consistently threaten quarterbacks. I see shades of longtime Cowboys and current Seahawks star DeMarcus Lawrence in Bain.
The aforementioned Bain is currently the more polished player, but the NFL is often willing to gamble on upside, and Faulk’s exciting combination of length, burst and underrated strength suggest that he is just scratching the surface of his potential. Like Bain, Faulk is currently struggling to live up to last year’s production, registering just 17 tackles, including four for loss and two sacks through seven games after generating an impressive 45-11-7 stat line as a sophomore. Again, however, these numbers don’t fully encapsulate Faulk’s ability to disrupt an offense, as he frequently draws extra blockers and, like Bain, is quite effective against the run, as well as the pass.
He is equally effective with his hand in the dirt or playing out of the two-point stance, consistently crossing the face of tackles with his speed rush alone. He is a more powerful defender than his lanky frame suggests, showing the ability to bull rush opponents into the backfield or latch onto ballcarriers for drag-down tackles. With some refining, it is easy to envision Faulk developing into a 10-plus sack threat in the NFL, following a similar career arc as longtime Vikings and current Texans standout Danielle Hunter.
Safety remains one of the most important positions in football, but as the NFL has increased its protection of receivers crossing the middle, their relative value has decreased in the eyes of some teams. As such, while Downs might just be the best all-around player in this draft class, it does not guarantee that he will be a top-five selection next spring. Like the two players listed above him, Downs was an immediate standout, leading the entire SEC with 70 solo tackles for Nick Saban at Alabama before earning All-American honors and a national championship upon transferring to Ohio State last year. Simply put, Downs is a natural playmaker. His uncommon ability to make plays at every level has manifested in production all over the field — including in coverage (five interceptions) and near the line of scrimmage (13 tackles for loss). He also returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown against Indiana a year ago.
In an era of specialists at safety, Downs is a do-it-all dynamo. He possesses the agility, acceleration and ball skills to be a true ballhawk, but his greatest attributes are his instincts and closing speed. He trusts his eyes and attacks the football, often generating bone-rattling hits and consistently stopping opponents for minimal gains. I think Downs is the second coming of Budda Baker, a similarly compact heat-seeking missile who has been selected to seven of eight Pro Bowls with the Cardinals.
While some believe traditional safeties are losing some value in today’s NFL, as the league increasingly shifts toward more dual-threat quarterbacks, finding “spies” at linebacker who can corral them is more important than ever. Reese flashes supersonic speed in this regard, wowing even his head coach Ryan Day in Ohio State’s blanketing of Washington’s Demond Williams in Week 4.
Surrounded by so much talent in Columbus, Reese entered the year relatively unheralded — at least in comparison to many of the prospects on this list. Few players have shot to the top of draft boards as quickly as he has, however. Reese entered the season with just 43 career tackles and has already matched that production through seven games this season, and there’s no reason to think he’s close to being a finished product. Reese is a clean, physical tackler, but it’s his remarkable closing speed that I think will ultimately earn him a top-10 selection next spring. Ravens Pro Bowler Roquan Smith was clocked at 4.51 seconds in the 40-yard dash. Reese is bigger and may prove even faster.
5. Mansoor Delane, cornerback, LSU, 6-0, 190, senior
A legitimate lockdown cover corner whose size and silky-smooth athleticism remind me most of the Jets’ Sauce Gardner, Delane is my top-rated senior defender for the 2026 NFL Draft. He began his college career at Virginia Tech and was an immediate standout in Blacksburg, starting 29 consecutive games over three seasons there. Last year, he earned All-ACC honors after finishing third in the conference with four interceptions and seven pass break-ups.
While Delane has intercepted just one pass since joining LSU this year, that is mostly because opponents are wisely avoiding his side of the field. According to PFF, Delane has been targeted only 23 times in seven games and allowed a total of six receptions — only two of which have gone for first downs. He has not allowed a touchdown. He possesses extraordinarily light feet and loose hips, which enable him to fluidly change direction and remain hip to hip with receivers.
With all due respect to edge defenders Bain and Faulk topping off this list, the best pure pass-rusher of this class is Bailey, who currently leads the country with 10.5 sacks.
Bailey caught the attention of scouts a year ago at Stanford, generating seven sacks and five forced fumbles. He’s taken another step toward becoming a first-round selection this fall, showcasing the best first-step of his class. His calling card may be initial burst, but Bailey is a more nuanced rusher than just a speed threat. He chops his hands nicely to get free from pass-blockers when they are able to latch on, and he complements his underrated power and technique with good balance to dip under their reach. It is a similar combination of traits that has helped Yannick Ngakoue rack up 70.5 sacks over his nine-year NFL career.
7. Peter Woods, defensive tackle, Clemson, 6-3, 310, junior
While Clemson’s disappointing season has effectively smudged the shine on several of their top prospects, the powerful Woods remains an easy first-round candidate in my eyes — and, more importantly, those of NFL scouts. He has never been a statistically dominant player, registering just 28 total tackles last year, although 8.5 of those were behind the line of scrimmage, including three sacks. Woods is on pace to boost his production in 2025 (21 tackles in seven games), though he isn’t responsible for many big plays with just 1.5 tackles for loss and a single sack on the year so far.
He remains an immovable object in the middle, however — a trait that even in today’s up-tempo era holds extreme value in the NFL. Many football fans are familiar with the expression “stack and shed.” Woods personifies that talent, rag-dolling would-be blockers at the point of attack, tossing them aside and forcing ballcarriers to either avoid him entirely or risk being hurled to the turf themselves. He’s also surprisingly quick, showing the lateral agility to chase down runners in limited spaces and even serving as an effective goal-line back for Clemson. I see a lot of similarities between Woods and last year’s No. 5 overall pick, Mason Graham.
NFL scouts love sleepers just like the rest of us, and after spending his first three seasons in relative obscurity at Bowling Green, and even now that he’s starring in College Station, Howell qualifies. Howell starred at the prep level, but his stubby frame left him with few major offers. He led the MAC with 9.5 sacks in 2023 and flashed in 2024 (8.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and seven pass break-ups) in limited playing time behind a defensive line full of future NFL players, including first- and second-round 2025 draft picks Shemar Stewart, Nic Scourton and Shemar Turner. Because of all that talent up front, Howell was sometimes asked to drop into coverage, where, as you can see in the video below, his playmaking chops shined through there, as well.
Enjoying a second breakout campaign similar in some ways to the one Jared Verse enjoyed at Florida State (after beginning his college career at Albany), Howell is currently leading the SEC with 7.5 sacks. The tape proves that he’s no fluke. Howell is quick off the snap, surprisingly powerful and highly instinctive. Perhaps no prospect in the country has boosted his grade more over the first two months of the 2025 season than Howell, showing the same kind of relentless motor that has helped Verse quickly emerge into a star with the Rams.
If there are two things that NFL teams are consistently willing to gamble on, they are athletic bloodlines and playmaking ability. Terrell — the younger brother of former Clemson and current Atlanta Falcons’ standout cornerback AJ Terrell — offers both, intercepting three passes over his career and forcing twice as many fumbles. Unlike most of the top-rated cornerbacks who enter the draft each year, Terrell has extensive experience playing inside and out, offering his future NFL team uncommon versatility. And as his six career forced fumbles (in just three seasons) can attest, he’s just as tenacious after the ball has been caught as he is in coverage — where he’s surrendered a total of four receiving touchdowns in 34 total games.
Terrell’s relatively slim frame and penchant for making big plays reminds me of Commanders nickelback Mike Sainristill, who has already generated five turnovers in just 24 NFL games.
10. Christen Miller, defensive tackle, Georgia, 6-4, 310, redshirt junior
The analytics crowd will disagree with my inclusion of Miller — and his nine total tackles in seven games this season — among the elite defensive prospects in this class, but my 25-plus years in the scouting business have taught me that players with his size, agility and raw power simply don’t last long on draft day. He is being asked to play a lot of nose guard at Georgia, and while he possesses the frame and strength to handle this role, I believe it is limiting his opportunities to make more plays. Scouts will see his traits and project him to have more success in the NFL.
Give him a year or so to develop and Miller could be a monster, enjoying a similar blue-collar NFL career as Daron Payne, now in the midst of his ninth consecutive season starting inside for the Commanders.
Just missed the cut:
Jermod McCoy, CB, Tennessee
Joshua Josephs, Edge, Tennessee
T.J. Parker, Edge, Clemson
Anthony Hill Jr., OLB, Texas
Rob Rang is an NFL Draft analyst for FOX Sports. He has been covering the NFL Draft for more than 25 years, with work at FOX, Sports Illustrated, CBSSports.com, USA Today, Yahoo, NFL.com and NFLDraftScout.com, among others. He also works as a scout with the BC Lions of the Canadian Football League. Follow him on X @RobRang.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily.
