The Five Deepest Positions In The 2025 Recruiting Class

The rankings are always being analyzed from different angles to try and spot trends in the high school evaluation process. Sometimes a player is more heavily recruited than his peers because he plays a premium position and sometimes it could be because there aren’t many highly-regarded players at his position in the current recruiting cycle. To help answer some of those questions, here is a look at the five deepest, or positions with the most talent, in the 2025 recruiting class.

If the 2025 recruiting cycle ended today, the class of defensive backs would be considered the deepest in the history of the Rivals250. Cornerbacks (26) and safeties (21) account for 47 players in the 2025 Rivals250, which is the most since the 2018 class featured 46 defensive backs in the Rivals250. There are still four very major rankings updates remaining in the 2025 cycle so plenty of changes could be coming but there is no denying that there is some outstanding talent in the secondary this year. Devin Sanchez, Na’eem Offord, Dijon Lee Jr., and Chris Ewald Jr. currently lead the way for the cornerbacks while Jonah Williams, Faheem Delane, and Trey McNutt represent the safeties at the top of the rankings.

It’s hardly a surprise that defensive linemen account for the second most Rivals250 prospects. The 44 Rivals250 defensive linemen are fairly evenly distributed between strongside defensive end (18), weakside defensive end (13), and defensive tackle (13) but, given recent trends, that total number is a bit low. Only once in the last six rankings cycles has the Rivals250 featured fewer than 45 defensive linemen. Odds are good that more defensive linemen find their way into the Rivals250 before the end of this rankings cycle. The top of the defensive tackle rankings in the 2025 class looks exceptional with Justus Terry and Elijah Griffin leading the way. No. 1 strongside defensive end Nathaniel Marshall has the look of a special prospect as well. At weakside defensive end, the trio of Javion Hilson, Zahir Mathis, and Zion Grady are jockeying for that No. 1 spot.

Wide receiver is almost always the deepest single position in the Rivals250 and the 2025 cycle is no different with 39 of them currently holding spots on the prestigious list. The 2025 class isn’t an outlier when it comes to the number of Rivals250 receivers but, with just two five-stars at the position, it could feature the fewest five-star receivers since the 2021 class finished with the same number. Five-stars Dakorien Moore and Winston Watkins Jr. currently sit atop the 2025 receiver rankings with potential five-stars like Caleb Cunningham, Jaime Ffrench, and Dallas Wilson hot on their heels.

The 2024 class was an outlier with just 27 offensive linemen in the 2024 Rivals250 but the 2025 class is returning to the mean with 36. Since the 2019 recruiting cycle, only the 2024 class has had fewer than 34 offensive linemen in the Rivals250. The 2025 crop of offensive tackles looks especially strong, with a total of 26 in the Rivals250. If the rankings cycle ended today, that number would be tied for the second most ever in the Rivals250. Since the 2019 class, there have been only two years (2024 and 2023) with fewer than 23 offensive tackles finishing in the Rivals250. The 2025 class is tracking towards a similar total but the number of five-star offensive tackles could put this year in elite company. David Sanders Jr., Douglas Utu, Michael Fasusi, Carter Lowe, and Ty Haywood account for the five five-stars in the 2025 class, a total which has only been surpassed or equaled by four previous classes.

The crop of linebackers in the 2025 class is off to a strong start with 30 linebackers in the current Rivals250. If that total holds, it would be more than the last three recruiting classes. There appears to be considerable talent at outside linebacker in this cycle, with 21 of them dotting the 2025 Rivals250. If the rankings cycle were to finish today, that would be tied for the largest number of outside linebackers to finish ranked in the Rivals250. The outside linebackers account for the seven highest ranked linebackers in the 2025 class. Nathaniel Owusu-Boateng, Zayden Walker, Darrell Johnson, Nasir Wyatt, Madden Faraimo, Christian Jones, and Anthony Sacca lead the way.