The new Rivals250 for the 2026 class has been released and there are a lot of changes following a summer full of evaluation opportunities. Here are thoughts on each position from Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney.

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be No. 1?

Monday: Five-Star Countdown | Meet the new five-stars

Tuesday: New Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney goes position-by-position | Biggest risers

Wednesday: New offensive position rankings released | QB rankings breakdown | RB rankings breakdown | WR/TE rankings breakdown | OL rankings breakdown

Thursday: New defensive position rankings released | DL rankings breakdown | LB rankings breakdown | DB rankings breakdown | ATH rankings breakdown

Friday: New state rankings released | Who is No. 1 in each state?

Saturday: Roundtable on the new Rivals250 rankings

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There is a new No. 1 pro-style quarterback in recent Tennessee commit Faizon Brandon as he showed the dynamic ability and all the arm talent possible this offseason to push him over Florida State pledge Brady Smigiel, who remains a five-star as well.

The real question among the pro-style quarterbacks is whether there is another five-star with Georgia commit Jared Curtis, Oklahoma commit Jaden O’Neal and Michigan commit Brady Hart as the strongest possibilities but two West quarterbacks – Helaman Casuga and Luke Fahey – also in the picture. Curtis is the most interesting one and his junior season will be a big determining factor here.

At dual-threat quarterback, Ryder Lyons (who has USC, Ole Miss and others high on the list) is the lone five-star and it will be tough to unseat him. I’ve compared him with a better Jaxson Dart and that still stands as a big junior season is ahead. I’m also really interested to see how Clemson commit Tait Reynolds performs this season because the two-sport star (baseball as well) has a ton of upside.

Running back could be a position that could see significant changes as we work through this recruiting cycle – especially since there are still two seasons to figure everything out. Savion Hiter, who has Michigan high on his list but many others involved, remains the highest-ranked running back in the class but we will see many of these guys in the years to come a lot more and then get to a final ranking.

Oregon commit Tradarian Ball and Oklahoma pledge Jonathan Hatton Jr. are really impressive and interesting, and could push even higher up the list. Texas is very loaded in this running back class and KJ Edwards and Javian Osborne are two others to watch.

At all-purpose back, Frisco (Texas) Lone Star’s Davian Groce gives off some Ollie Gordon vibes and that’s really high praise so he’ll be one to watch closely as well.

Chris Henry is the lone five-star among this group. After that, everything could really be up in the air.

Georgia receivers Devin Carter and Aaron Gregory are the highest-ranked four-stars for now but Vance Spafford from Mission Viejo, Calif., has made a huge move up after a phenomenal summer. There are some physical specimens with outstanding measurables that should be more heavily considered as well.

Auburn commit Denairius Gray is one. Miami (Fla.) Northwestern’s Calvin Russell could move up very fast with a huge junior season. Jordon Gidron and Tristen Keys could be two others who get pushed even higher in the next rankings release.

This could be a receiver class with a ton of movement through this recruiting cycle but Henry, who’s committed to Ohio State but Oregon and others are trying hard to flip him, has a pretty strong grasp on that No. 1 spot.

New Charlotte (N.C.) Providence Day tight end Kendre' Harrison is one notch away from five-star status and with a basketball background as well there is no questioning his size, athleticism and playmaking ability. Harrison has to want to dominate, though, so we’ll monitor that through his junior season.

He’s in a strong spot to keep that No. 1 position throughout the recruiting cycle but there will be plenty of others pushing him, starting with Bowdon, Ga., standout Kaiden Prothro, who has the size and length of a tight end but the athleticism of a wide receiver.

St. George (Utah) Pine View’s Brock Harris feels too talented to be third at the position and then the Illinois duo of Mack Sutter and JC Anderson are definitely two others to watch. Staying in the Midwest, Saline, Mich., standout Lincoln Keyes could be way too low still.

The offensive tackle group in 2026 is absolutely loaded led by five-stars Jackson Cantwell, who could make a run at No. 1 overall, and then massive OL Immanuel Iheanacho. But there could be other five-stars as this class fills out as Penn State commit Kevin Brown was outstanding at the Rivals Five-Star this summer and then Keenyi Pepe, John Turntine and others are elite at the position.

We moved Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab’s Lamar Brown from defensive line to offensive guard as he could play on either side of the ball and dominate. He’s the new No. 1 offensive guard but Tyler Merrill, Chancellor Barclay and others will push him.

Even center is pretty strong at the top with Zykie Helton, who has Alabama and Georgia high on the list, owns the top spot followed by powerful interior lineman Grant Wise, who has Clemson, Oklahoma, the in-state programs and a bunch of others involved.

Jahkeem Stewart is the No. 1 prospect in the 2026 Rivals250 and the New Orleans (La.) St. Augustine standout who has LSU, Texas, USC, Ohio State and others involved, proved it yet again at the Rivals Five-Star this summer. So physical, so aggressive and so tough, Stewart has everything needed to be an elite player for years to come.

This is a very strong group though. At strongside defensive end, Jordan Carter is really talented and is one notch from five-star status. Jake Kreul, who has a refuse-to-lose attitude, impressed this summer.

At weakside defensive end – basically edge rusher – Mobile (Ala.) St. Paul’s Anthony Jones is a new five-star as Alabama and Auburn mainly battle it out for him. Gainesville, Ga., four-star Xavier Griffin has incredible length and athleticism. Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances’ Zion Elee has all the upside in the world and will play a national schedule this year to show off his abilities.

Defensive tackle is stacked as well. Even though there are no five-stars in that group – yet – Daverin Geralds is the new top-ranked defensive tackle after an outstanding performance at the Rivals Five-Star. He was so tough that Geralds had a dreadlock ripped right out of his head, kept going and won almost every rep. There are a bunch of other elite four-stars led by James Carrington and Bryce Perry-Wright, who could keep moving up.

Linebacker is another very strong position in the 2026 class both at inside and outside linebacker. The lone five-star so far is Loganville (Ga.) Grayson’s Tyler Atkinson, who can play in space and come off the edge so he can do a lot of everything. But Talanoa Ili is an elite-looking linebacker at Orange (Calif.) Lutheran. Shadarius Toodle, Jordan Campbell, Kosi Okpala, Samu Moala and others are phenomenal players.

At inside linebacker, there could be a lot of movement as Tai’Yion King leads the way but Kennethn Goodwin, Cam Thomas and others are in the mix. Goodwin has shown to be an absolute beast and hard hitter. Thomas gets bigger every time we see him. This is a really loaded group and could be top heavy but the top at both spots is great.

Cornerback is one of the positions in 2026 where there are no five-stars and it’s far from determined the order of the top players there. Elbert Hill takes over the No. 1 slot there but USC commit Brandon Lockhart and high four-star Samari Matthews are also right there as well. Justice Fitzpatrick, Minkah’s brother, is also very high and then Zyan Gibson is someone who could keep shooting up the charts along with others.

Safety is loaded and it could bode very well for LSU in the long run. Two of the top three safeties in the 2026 class – Blaine Bradford and Aiden Hall – are from Baton Rouge, La., and New Orleans, respectively. Sandwiched between them is Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances’ Jireh Edwards, one of the hardest hitters in the entire class. Georgia commit Jontavius Wyman is someone who could keep climbing up the charts.

As time goes by in the 2026 class, more prospects in the athlete category will be moved to specific positions as their future spot becomes more clear. But the top two might never move since Derrek Cooper can play almost anywhere and Keisean Henderson is rated higher as an athlete than he would be at quarterback, where he wants to play in college.

Cooper is a new five-star and Henderson is a high four-star as an athlete with others pushing toward the top. Brandon Arrington is someone who could surge up the list since he’s one of the fastest prospects in the country regardless of class.