The Edge Rusher Paradox of 2027: Why Dylan Stewart and Colin Simmons Have Already Won the Draft Lottery Before Stepping on the Stage

There is something that happens in football when talent becomes so evident, so thoroughly documented, that it transcends the normal anxieties of a player's career trajectory. We see it occasionally at the offensive tackle position when a generational bookend emerges with such clarity that scouts and general managers simply accept what they are looking at. We have seen it at quarterback when a prospect's arm talent and processing are so far beyond reproach that injuries almost become secondary considerations. What we are witnessing right now with Dylan Stewart and Colin Simmons at the edge rusher position is a moment where two elite talents have essentially already answered the most important question facing any young football player: will the professional game be kind to me, or will it ask me to prove myself from scratch?

The ability for either of these men to sit out the 2026 college football season and still walk confidently into an NFL draft room knowing they will hear their name called in the first round is not a small thing. This is not hyperbole or speculation dressed up as scouting wisdom. This is a recognition that some players have moved so far beyond the noise and uncertainty that typically defines the draft evaluation period that they have essentially achieved a level of professional security while still wearing a college uniform. It changes the entire calculus of what they do next, how they approach their final year or years of eligibility, and what they are truly risking by continuing to play.

To understand where we are with these two edge rusher prospects, we have to step back and appreciate what makes them different from the typical candidates who generate this kind of first-round certainty. Edge rusher is one of the most difficult positions to truly master at the college level. The physical tools required are immense: elite athleticism, strong hands, lateral agility, and an understanding of how to convert speed and power into productive sacks and pressures. But beyond the physical toolkit, what separates the truly elite edge rushers from the very good ones is an almost innate understanding of how to move in space, how to read an offensive lineman's set, and how to finish plays with violence and intentionality. These are things that scouts have been evaluating since the advent of modern film study, and they are things that rarely lie.

Dylan Stewart represents the kind of edge rusher prospect who checks every box that college scouts and NFL evaluators have spent decades learning to value. The first thing you notice when you turn on film is the immediate burst off the line. There is a quickness to his first step that suggests someone who has not just trained explosiveness but who possesses an inherent understanding of how to translate it into productive movement. When you watch truly elite edge rushers in the NFL, guys who have made 100-plus sacks at this level, there is almost a rhythm to how they initiate their pass rush. They understand the geometry of the position in a way that cannot be taught. Stewart demonstrates this at a level that is frankly uncommon for someone still playing college football.

What makes Stewart particularly interesting from an NFL perspective is his ability to stack technique on top of that athleticism. He is not just a one-move player who wins with speed or power but rather shows an expanding arsenal of approaches to defeating offensive linemen. His hand placement is consistent, his ability to shed blocks suggests a high football intelligence, and his pad level when engaging in the trenches is approaching genuinely elite territory. When you cross-reference these observations with what scouts are seeing at the combine in terms of his broad jump, his vertical leap, and his three-cone drill time, you start to understand why the conversation around Stewart has already moved past whether he will be drafted high and into which specific team might get him and what role he might play at the next level.

Colin Simmons, by contrast, offers a different profile entirely, yet one that is equally or perhaps even more impressive in its own way. Where Stewart operates with a certain consistency and technical precision, Simmons plays with a relentless, almost unhinged intensity that has become increasingly rare at the edge rusher position in college football. When you watch Simmons on film, there is an immediate sense that you are looking at someone who is not just trying to make plays but who is genuinely obsessed with disrupting the offensive line's intent on every single snap. His motor appears to run at a consistently high RPM, and that is not just cliched scout speak. This is someone who rarely takes plays off, who continues pursuing laterally on the field, and who has developed an understanding of gap responsibility that suggests a high level of coaching and self-awareness.

The physical tools that Simmons possesses are slightly different than Stewart's, which is precisely why comparing them becomes such a fascinating exercise. Where Stewart might represent the more conventionally elite athlete, Simmons shows the kind of explosive power and rotational strength that NFL defensive line coaches spend entire offseasons trying to develop. His ability to generate violent hand movements from a lower body position suggests someone with genuine interior pass rush capability, and in today's NFL, where many edge rushers are being asked to move inside on passing downs, that versatility is increasingly valuable. Scouts who have studied Simmons extensively speak about his potential to accumulate sacks not just from off-edge assignments but from genuine disruption up the middle.

The truly remarkable aspect of both these prospects is that neither one appears to have significant weaknesses that would typically keep a first-round edge rusher prospect up at night. There are no glaring scheme incompatibilities, no troubling injury histories, no character concerns that would require additional vetting. Instead, what we are looking at is a situation where two players have simply performed at such a high level, demonstrated such clear NFL readiness, and showcased such consistent production that the default outcome has already been determined. This is not destiny being written by a crystal ball, but rather the inevitable result of sustained excellence in one of the most visible positions in college football.

When teams are conducting their draft preparations in the coming months, there will be no need for any of the traditional risk mitigation strategies that apply to edge rusher prospects. There will be no character investigation that raises eyebrows, no medical evaluation that suggests injury proneness, no technique-on-film concerns that force a genuine debate about round placement. Instead, what you are looking at is a situation where the question is not whether these players will succeed at the next level but rather which specific team will get them and in what order. This changes the power dynamic that typically exists between prospect and organization. It means that Stewart and Simmons are operating from a position of significant leverage.

The decision that either of these players might make regarding sitting out the 2026 season is not actually born from anxiety or concern about their draft prospects. Instead, it would represent a strategic choice based on risk management and opportunity cost. Playing another year of college football carries with it the inherent possibility of injury, inconsistent production relative to projections, or simply failing to improve upon what has already been established as an elite baseline. In that context, sitting out becomes not a desperate move but a calculated one. It is the equivalent of a company that has already secured a massive contract deciding whether the additional revenue from extending the current agreement is worth the operational risk and uncertainty of continuing to operate under existing conditions.

What scouts will be most focused on between now and whenever Stewart and Simmons do make their final decisions is exactly how the position battle actually shakes out. In a vacuum, if you had to rank them right now, the honest answer is that it depends heavily on individual team needs and scheme fits. A defensive coordinator who has built his system around disrupting offensive linemen with violent hand placement might view Simmons as the superior prospect. A team that values elite athleticism and technical consistency might see Stewart as the safer investment and the more versatile asset. Neither answer would be wrong, which is precisely what makes this particular matchup so compelling.

The historical precedent for this kind of situation is actually more common than many fans might realize. When Alabama produced Derrick Thomas and the NFL recognized him as the obvious top edge rusher in his class, it was not because Thomas had performed miraculously above all competition but rather because he had consistently demonstrated the kinds of traits that NFL teams understood would translate directly to the professional level. The same applies to more recent examples. The clarity around where elite edge rushers should go in the draft typically emerges when a prospect reaches a certain threshold of production and demonstrates the physical and technical tools that professional coaches know how to deploy.

What makes the 2027 edge rusher class potentially special is not just that Stewart and Simmons are elite prospects. It is that they represent different routes to that elite status, which could ultimately mean that a team's draft needs and philosophy will genuinely shape how they view the decision between them. In the end, both of these players have already achieved what every draft prospect hopes for: the security of knowing that their professional football future has been essentially guaranteed by their college performance. Whether they choose to gamble for an additional year of development or take the bird in hand remains their decision to make, but the outcome of that decision will matter far less than the fact that they have reached a point where they can afford to make it at all.