This years edge rusher class is pretty strong at the top with some solid depth on day two, but it kind of falls off after that. Early in the college football season it looked like this class might end up as a bust. All of the top prospects had a slow start to their seasons, but as the season went guys started producing. There were also of course surprising producers like Michael Green who was not known to most of draft media entering the season. This will definitely be an interesting class to watch going forward. Lets get to the rankings.
Top Five Edge Rushers:
- Abdul Carter – Penn State: Abdul Carter was a off ball linebacker convert who did play some edge rusher in 2023, but it wasn’t enough to get a clear picture on how the transition would go. He definitely had a slow start to the season, but he got better and better every week. He showed jumps in development as a pass rusher. Carter is freaky athletic, but is a bit undersized at 6’3 250. He has drawn comparisons to Von Miller. He has the potential to be that good.
- Nic Scourton – Texas A & M: Scourton started out at Purdue where he put up some impressive numbers as a Sophomore in 2023 with eight sacks and tons of pressures. He was also already a pretty advanced run defender and showed up some impressive pass rush moves; specifically a spin move for a guy that was 270+. He was a big get for A&M and it was thought that he would explode there, but he was asked to put on too much weight and he lost his speed and explosiveness. Scourton still had some production with a number of pressures and still had four sacks. He dropped down to 257 for the NFL combine and seemed to get his athleticism back. He might get drafted on day 2, but might be one of the best rookie pass rushers.
- Michael Green – Marshall: Green is a player who was not known by many in the mainstream scouting community. Outside of Devin Jackson and myself no one really knew about him. As a back up in 2023 he showed some real flashes with just six sacks, but was generating a ton of pressure off the edge. Green of course lead the FBS in sacks this season and had a ton of TFLs as well. He is somewhat similar to Abdul Carter in size (6’3 251) but has exceptional speed, burst and bend off the edge. For his size he has been an ok run defender, but is definitely not a plus in that area.
- Shemar Stewart – Texas A & M: Stewart entered the season as an athletic freak hoping to having a breakout season. Due to how Texas A&M plays their defensive linemen and what it asks of them he wasn’t given many opportunities to just pin his ears back and rush the quarterback. Despite collecting just 4.5 sacks in three seasons he showed a lot of the flashes of special talent that doesn’t come around to often. He played around 280 and reportedly has been as heavy as 290. Stewart showed up to the combine at a svelte 267 and proceeded to run a 4.59 40 with a 10’11” broad jump and a 40″ vertical which are insane numbers for a man that big. He is still a work in progress, so it may take time for him to hit his ceiling. If he gets there he is an all-pro caliber player.
- James Pearce Jr. – Tennessee: Pearce entered the 2024 season as potentially the #1 edge rusher, but like some others he had a slow start to his season. He also never seemed to get completely on track. His sack total went from 11 to eight and his play didn’t show any improvements. His snap count was somewhat limited as well and it was reported it was due to issues with the coaching staff. Pearce didn’t get any bigger either still playing at an undersized 245 and that is on a 6’5 frame. For being undersized he is also not super bendy. His game is built on speed and explosiveness. He also still can stand to be developed more as a pass rusher. The potential though is still there for him to be a pro-bowl level player.
The Best Of The Rest: Six Thru Ten:
6. Donovan Ezeiruaku – Boston College: Ezeiruaku showed some big potential in 2022 with 8 sacks despite being undersized (around 235), he came back in 2023 hoping to build off the previous season but didn’t have the counting numbers he would have liked (2 sacks), but he still put a lot of pressure on the quarterback. It paid off with 14 sacks in 2024 and him showing he could add bulk. Despite being undersized at 6’2 1/2 248 he has a huge wingspan and is explosive and quick.
Out of the top edge rushers in this class he is the most advanced from a technical standpoint. He has almost every move in his bag and gives offensive tackles fits with trying to guess what move is coming next. Ezeiruaku has one of the highest floors in the class.
7. Princely Umanmielen – Ole Miss: Princely was a high rated prospect who spent his first four seasons at Florida and didn’t really start showing until 2022 where he had six sacks, then seven in 2023. He had his best season in 2024 with 11 sacks and was looking to be one of the top edge rushers in the class. The former Rebel has not had a great offseason/draft process.
He was ok at the senior bowl, and came in at a respectable 266. He decided to drop almost 20 pounds and showed up at the combine at 244. The thought was he did it so he could have big workouts, but for being 244 his workout was thought to be pretty meh. He ran just a 4.72. His stock has definitely fallen a bit. His film though shows a bendy, fast edge rusher who still has some room for growth.
8. Mykel Williams – Georgia: Williams is in another line of five star defensive linemen at Georgia. He is so big and strong that Georgia had him playing inside at times and he was holding up. Williams is 6’5 260 with 34+” arms. He is definitely a power player and received a lot of comparisons to Travon Walker another former Bulldog who was a freak athletic tester. Williams though did not test as freaky as it was thought he would and he is not on the same level of athlete as Walker. Like Walker his pass rush game is unrefined and he still needs work, but has upside to be a really solid edge rusher.
9. Landon Jackson – Arkansas: Landon Jackson is another big, physical power rusher in this class. He has been a good run defender every year and has flashed as a rusher, but has yet to “breakout”. Jackson has had an uneven draft process. He showed up at the Senior Bowl and showed nothing until the last year he had a few good reps here and there. Jackson seemed to be moving down, but showed up at the combine at 264 and ran a 4.68, but also tested very explosively with a 40 1/2 inch vert.
He even had a solid 7.13 3-cone. The issue though is he doesn’t play to most of his testing. On film his explosion is decent but not special and he is not very bending. He is kind of your traditional straight ahead speed to power rusher. He probably never puts up huge sack numbers, but should be a solid player overall.
10. Kyle Kennard – South Carolina: Kennard started out at Georgia Tech and flashed a little as a freshman with four sacks, but had just four sacks in 2021 and 2022 combined. In 2023 he came alive again with seven sacks and showed flashes of what he could be. He transferred to South Carolina and he finally hit his stride collecting 10 sacks and played good run defense all season. He is fast and explosive and for a decent sized edge rusher has some pretty good bend. He still has upside and could be a double digit sack guy in the NFL.
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