NEW RELEASE: Biggest developments in updated Rivals250
The latest Rivals250 for the 2026 class has been released and there were some big changes near the top of the rankings.
Rivals national rankings director Adam Friedman looks at the biggest developments that came out of the most recent rankings meeting.
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NEW 2026 RIVALS250: Ranking | Ten prospects who could rise with a big June
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
RIVALS CAMP SERIES: Rivals Five-Star heading back to Indy | Rivals Five-Star roster | Schedule/info
THREE NEW FIVE-STARS
With this update to the Rivals250, the total number of five-stars now sits at 25 after Lamar Brown, Mark Bowman and Zion Elee join the ranks. If you've been following the rankings debates over the last few months, these moves should not come as a surprise.
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Brown, now No. 13 overall, is a special prospect in the trenches who could play on either side of the line of scrimmage, which is why he has moved from the interior offensive lineman position ranking to the athlete position ranking. His quickness, strength, technique and physical traits give him one of the highest ceilings of any prospect in this class.
We've known for a while that the 2026 tight end class is a special group but now there is a new No. 1 at the position. Bowman, who was No. 30 overall in the previous Rivals250, now finds himself among the five-stars at No. 17. Even though he doesn't exactly fill up the stat sheet during the season, Bowman is a well-rounded tight end with high-end blocking abilities and has proven to be an elite receiving tight end throughout the offseason.
Elee, a longtime Maryland commit, is one of the most physically gifted prospects in this class, which is the main reason he now has five stars next to his name. Nearly 6-foot-5, 225 pounds with arms that are 35 inches long, the edge defender posted a sub-4.4 second 40-yard dash and a broad jump over 11 feet on Thursday at the St. Frances Academy pro day. It is very rare to find a player with those physical dimensions and that type of speed and explosiveness.
On top of those eye-popping numbers, Elee has also shown progress developing his hand techniques and has improved his playing strength since the end of last season, which helped propel him up to a five-star and No. 1 in the edge defender position ranking.
CHANGE AT THE TOP OF THE TIGHT END RANKING
A month ago, we indicated that the tight end ranking would be under the microscope and that changes were likely. Today, those changes were made public with Bowman moving up to No. 1 followed by Kaiden Prothro (No. 36 in the Rivals250) and Kendre' Harrison (No. 38 in the Rivals250). Each of these players are outstanding prospects with the potential to be selected early in the NFL Draft if they continue to develop.
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The shuffling within the top three at the position has more to do with NFL Draft and NFL performance trends than anything else. Harrison is a special blend of size and athleticism and boasts a strong basketball background.
Bowman and Prothro both check more boxes when it comes to key movement indicators than Harrison at this point and now they're both ranked ahead of him.
NEW NO. 1 SAFETY
Five-star Jireh Edwards has jumped ahead of fellow five-star Blaine Bradford to claim the No. 1 safety crown. The standout from Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances plays like a heat-seeking missile in the secondary. Edwards has developed a reputation for jarring the ball loose when he makes tackles and can consistently get his hands on the ball.
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He has the speed (posted multiple 4.4-second 40-yard dashes on Thursday) and size (nearly 6-foot-2 with 33-inch arms) that favorably projects to the NFL Draft and in-season production that verifies his high-end abilities.
OSENDA ASCENDING
Oftentimes there are highly regarded prospects who don't take full advantage of the offseason to work on their craft and physically improve. That description is the opposite of how Gabriel Osenda has attacked these last few months.
Osenda participated in the Navy All-American Bowl in San Antonio earlier this year and his performance left a lot to be desired. The 6-foot-8 offensive tackle was carrying a lot of unneeded weight and it significantly impacted his effectiveness on the field.
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Fast forward a couple months and the Tennessee commit now looks like one of the best prospects in this class. Osenda arrived at the Rivals Camp Series in Atlanta in May at 330 pounds, much leaner than four months ago. He was able to bend better, moved his feet quicker and had the technical skills to consistently keep defensive linemen out of the backfield.
If Osenda keeps improving at this rate, he could keep rising up the Rivals250.
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