Rivals Rankings Week: Stories to Watch Featuring the Best Defenders of 2025

The Rivals250 has been updated for the 2025 class and now it’s time to analyze each position. Today we continue with the defensive positions by looking at the big storylines moving forward with the defensive back rankings.

NEW POSITION RANKINGS: Athlete | Cornerback | Safety | Outside Linebacker | Inside Linebacker | Strongside Defensive End | Weakside Defensive End | Defensive Tackle | Offensive Tackle | Offensive Guard | Center | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Running Back | All Purpose Back | Pro Style QB | Dual Threat QB

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Sunday: Who should be number 1?

Monday: Five Star Countdown | Meet the New Five Star

Tuesday: New Rivals250 revealed | Gorney goes position by position | Biggest climbers

Wednesday: New Offensive Position Rankings Released | QB Rankings Overview | RB Rankings Overview | WR/TE Rankings Overview | OL ranking distribution

Thursday: New Defensive Position Rankings Released | DL Rankings Overview | LB Rankings Overview | DB Rankings Overview | ATH Rankings Overview

Friday: New State Rankings Released | Who’s #1 in Each State?

Saturday: Roundtable discussion on the new Rivals250 rankings

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WILL NA’EEM OFFORD REMAIN A FIVE-STAR?

Bob Ferrante

There is a lot to like about Na’eem Offord on film. But that’s the only place we’ve seen him. Offord had a very quiet off-season with no big events. So the exposure points just aren’t there for him right now.

It will be great to see his development during his senior season to remain a five-star prospect. Can he do it? Absolutely. But he will have to show a lot. It will also be interesting to see if Auburn can pull him off his Ohio State commitment.

SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH OHIO STATE FANS AT DOTTINGTHEEYES.COM

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WHO WILL BE AT THE CORNERBACK FUNCTION?

Devin Sanchez is clearly the best corner in the 2025 Rivals250, but the game behind him is still wide open. That means there could be a lot of movement the next time we roll out the rankings. Dijon Lee and Blake Woodby are currently the closest to five-star status. Lee in particular is an intriguing prospect who continues to impress.

Shamar Arnoux and Jaimier Scott are two prospects currently outside the top 10 at their positions who could have big senior seasons. Both have been impressive in real life this summer. If their development continues, it’s easy to see them moving into the top 10.

How about Courtland Guillory or Mark Zackery? Both have been mentioned as possibly undervalued at this point. Big changes could still come at cornerback.

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WILL THE TREND AWAY FROM SUPER-SIZED SAFETY EQUIPMENT CONTINUE?

One trend to watch is that NFL franchises are reluctant to take big safeties in the early rounds of the NFL Draft. Teams are much more likely to draft an Antoine Winfield type (5-foot-9, 203 pounds) than a player who is 6-foot-1 and taller.

So you see that trend trickle down to college football recruiting. Of our top seven safeties, only Faheem Delane (6-foot-1) and Anquon Fegans (just over 6-foot) were taller than 6-foot this summer. It’s not that the taller safeties aren’t good, they’re just being relegated to hybrid linebacker roles. This is especially true as more colleges try to match the athleticism of the offenses they’re facing.