Story by
2026 NFL Draft Rankings: Edge Defender
- Story by
- 2026 NFL Draft Rankings: Edge Defender
The 2026 NFL Draft is right around the corner, and we've got you covered with rankings for every position group in this year's class.
This year's class is absolutely loaded at the edge defender position, with a stacked top tier of blue-chip talent, as well as solid depth that should give teams plenty of strong value picks into the middle rounds. Miami's Rueben Bain Jr. and Texas Tech 's David Bailey should both be top-10 picks, and they'll have plenty of company in the first round.
Advertisement
2026 NFL DRAFT RANKINGS
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | Interior OL | Edge | Interior DL | LB | CB | S
Here's how we rank the top 35 edge defender prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft class:
| RANK |
PLAYER |
COLLEGE |
|---|---|---|
| 1. |
Rueben Bain Jr. |
Miami (FL) |
| 2. |
David Bailey |
Texas Tech |
| 3. |
Malachi Lawrence |
|
| 4. |
Texas A&M |
|
| 5. |
Auburn |
|
| 6. |
Miami (FL) |
|
| 7. |
Clemson |
|
| 8. |
||
| 9. |
||
| 10. |
||
| 11. |
||
| 12. |
Michigan |
|
| 13. |
||
| 14. |
||
| 15. |
Texas Tech |
|
| 16. |
Auburn |
|
| 17. |
||
| 18. |
USC |
|
| 19. |
Caden Curry |
|
| 20. |
Western Michigan |
|
| 21. |
||
| 22. |
||
| 23. |
Utah |
|
| 24. |
||
| 25. |
||
| 26. |
Duke |
|
| 27. |
Texas |
|
| 28. |
Quintayvious Hutchins |
|
| 29. |
Florida |
|
| 30. |
||
| 31. |
Jeremiah Williams |
Texas A&M |
| 32. |
Michael Heldman |
Central Michigan |
| 33. |
Ethan Burke |
Texas |
| 34. |
Jack Pyburn |
LSU |
| 35. |
Keyshawn James-Newby |
This story was originally published by Athlon Sports on Feb 20, 2026, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
