Top EDGEs in the 2027 Rivals300: Nation’s best pass-rushers wreaking havoc on Friday nights
· Yahoo Sports
The updated 2027 Rivals300 ranking is flooded with elite talent at the EDGE position. As of Sept. 15, there are 31 prospects at the position featured in Rivals’ top 300 and all have been committed since the end of the summer.
It’s the SEC, to no surprise, that has the most of those 31 commitments with 10. Those have dispersed among seven different programs in the league. The Big Ten is next with eight, leaving the rest for the ACC (seven), Big 12 (three) and Notre Dame (three).
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On the high school front, it doesn’t take a veteran scout to notice an elite EDGE. You can see it as they bully opposing offensive tackles and routinely disrupt plays in the backfield, stacking sacks and tackles for loss.
Rivals is taking a look at the top 10 EDGE prospects in the 2027 Rivals300, along with how well their high school programs have performed so far this fall, now that the season is at least a couple weeks old across most of the nation.
1. David Jacobs — Ohio State
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 12 NATL.
School: Blessed Trinity Catholic (Ga.)
Committed Since: Dec. 29, 2025
Blessed Trinity Catholic is off to a 4-0 start and ranks as the No. 11 team in Georgia, according to the Rivals Composite Rankings. Through four games, Jacobs has tallied 16 tackles, including five for loss and four sacks, per MaxPreps. He’s eclipsed 100 total tackles in each of the previous two seasons and now has over 300 in his esteemed prep career.
2. Abraham Sesay — Notre Dame
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 15 NATL.
School: Downingtown East (Pa.)
Committed Since: June 16
Coming off a breakout 80-tackle, 13-sack junior campaign, Sesay has looked monstrous early on as a senior for Downingtown East, which is now 2-0. The Cougars rank as the No. 34 team in Pennsylvania, per the Rivals Composite Rankings. There aren’t many Keystone State offensive linemen that can keep the 6-foot-4.5, 225-pounder from getting in the backfield.
3. Mekai Brown — USC
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 17 NATL.
School: Greenwich Country Day (Conn.)
Committed Since: April 17
The rest of the Northeast will finally get rolling this week and Greenwich Country Day enters as the No. 36 team in Connecticut, per the Rivals Composite Rankings. Brown will lead the Tigers once again after posting 68 tackles and 10 sacks in nine games as a junior last fall.
4. Jaiden Bryant — Miami
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 30 NATL.
School: Irmo (S.C.)
Committed Since: June 3
The consensus No. 1 prospect in the state of South Carolina has helped guide Irmo to a 3-1 start this fall. The Yellowjackets have allowed just 37 points through four games. Bryant already has 28 total tackles, eight TFLs and five sacks. Irmo checks in as the No. 7 team in the Palmetto State, per the Rivals Composite Rankings.
5. Rashad Streets — Oregon
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 47 NATL.
School: Millbrook (N.C.)
Committed Since: April 3
Millbrook is now 3-0 and ranks as the No. 5 team in North Carolina, per the Rivals Composite Rankings. The Wildcats pitched a pair of shutouts and have allowed just 7 points thus far. Streets, of course, is at the forefront of the defensive attack. He’s already got 26 tackles, including a whopping 15.5 TFLs and 3.5 sacks. He had 103 tackles as a junior last fall.
6. Frederick Ards III — Texas A&M
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 50 NATL.
School: Jones (Fla.)
Committed Since: June 2
Coming off back-to-back 100-tackle seasons, Ards is back in the saddle for Jones, which is off to a 2-1 start this fall. The Tigers have allowed just 15 points across their two victories thus far and are now the No. 27 team in the Sunshine State, per the Rivals Composite Rankings.
7. Wyatt Smith — Ohio State
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 51 NATL.
School: St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.)
Committed Since: May 17
Smith has been one of the best players in all of Florida so far this season. The 6-foot-6, 240-pound playmaker has led the charge for Aquinas, which is now 4-0 and ranks as the No. 4 team in the nation, per the Rivals Composite Rankings. According to MaxPreps, Smith has already piled up 68 total tackles, including 20 for loss and eight sacks. That’s an average of 17 tackles per game — a nine-tackle increase from his 2025 average. Dominant.
8. Chris Whitehead — LSU
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 63 NATL.
School: Lloyd C. Bird (Va.)
Committed Since: June 17
Through two games, Whitehead has 15 total tackles, four of which have been in the backfield. L.C. Bird is 1-1 and ranks as the No. 64 team in Virginia, according to the Rivals Composite Rankings. Last fall, Whitehead finished with 54 tackles — including 10.5 sacks — across 11 games.
9. Anthony Sweeney — Texas Tech
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 64 NATL.
School: St. Frances Academy (Md.)
Committed Since: April 13
Sweeney is among a slew of elite prospects suiting up for St. Frances Academy this fall. The Panthers are 3-0 and now rank as the No. 2 team in the nation, per the Rivals Composite Rankings. As a junior for Good Counsel (Md.) last year, Sweeney had 49 tackles across 11 games.
10. Cahron Wheeler — Florida
Rivals300 Ranking: No. 90 NATL.
School: St. Paul’s School (Md.)
Committed Since: June 5
St. Paul’s is off to an 0-2 start to the season and Wheeler has six tackles through two games, per MaxPreps. The No. 3 senior prospect in Maryland has drawn comparisons to Princely Umanmielen from Rivals’ Scouting and Rankings Team. Wheeler had 30 tackles as a junior.