Watchlist 2026s with Strong Jr Tape - Offense

2026 Rankings I have been working on and will be out as soon as I finish them up - going to highlight some guys currently on the Watchlist whose Jr tape I really liked - Some of these guys may make the rankings because their grades range all over from solid D3 guys to recruitable D1 prospects but they all showed some good stuff. Some of them where watchlist names like McDowell and Bonta who were expected to have big Jr years while players like Valentine and Baker got onto my radar because of their performances this season.    Valentine is a prospect who plays both ways, and I like some film at LB - but after the film and getting to see him live this year vs. Orchard Park, I like him as an RB prospect a little more. He will have a much more significant role at RB as a Senior being behind two Division 1 commits this season. He has a good body type, is physically defined, and looks strong on the field. He plays with a great motor and shows good physicality as a runner and in the LB position.   My evaluation of Valentine is far from complete, but he has some promising Jr stuff out there and stood out when I saw him live.     Gumb was a utility guy for Farrell because he did a lot on both sides of the ball - he could easily be included in the defensive write-up for this same concept of watchlist guys. Defensively, he is a little undersized to play LB but could fit into that Slot/SS/Rover role for some teams. I liked his skillset at RB when I saw Farrell play Bishop Hendrickson early on in the season; he runs hard, shows some good burst and acceleration in the open field, and shows some solid contact balance in the 2nd level in open space.   Gumb is a multi-sport athlete whose track times this spring could be a strong positive for his evaluation, but I like what he put on tape as a JR and what he looked like live.     Bonta went from RB3 in 2023 as a sophomore to RB1 in 2024 and he ended up a Connelly Cup finalist and broke a lot of records for Jamestown. Bonta nearly hit the 2000-yard mark as a rusher and had 26 touchdowns on the ground - on film, he has some solid change of direction skills, strong jumps cuts, finishes runs with some violence, and does a great job of using patience and his vision to find open space.   In Spring workouts and summer camps teams are going to want to see speed from Bonta - a lot of great long runs but if he can find that extra gear in his 40-yard or workouts he becomes a more complete RB prospect.     A true do-it-all offensive weapon that also can make an impact as a returner Baker may be my favorite skill prospect on this list. I love the versatility in where he can line up at WR & RB and has the skill set to be on the field all three downs at either positions.   He shows a lot of position-specific skills he shows but he is a very explosive runner - a player who I will look to get some verified running times for because a little hard to gauge his speed on tape but he has those explosive short-area movements throughout his tape. Getting bigger and stronger will be important, especially with RB reps but some good baseline explosiveness to work with.     Major is a player whose social media I have not come across yet, but he has tape out on HUDL. Major is a little bit of a work in progress at the tackle position. His tape shows some flashes of promise, but he still is a raw prospect when it comes to his projection. There actually are a few tackles in NY in the '26 class with similar body types and projection, so it will be interesting to see how that group pans out.   Major plays a little high and needs to be more violent - however, you see elite length in his lean frame, and I thought he moves well overall, something you see more on the defensive tape. There are some traits to work with here - Major will bounce off the WL and into the rankings, not sure where he will land yet but a promising prospect.     A lean OL prospect who I have seen both live and in a camp setting is a prospect that is one of the top returning OL in the PSAL - White Jr moves very well, something he displayed and was well documented at PRZ camp in New Jersey in December. On tape, he shows some strength and plays with a good motor. There are some good traits in White Jr's game - taking those good traits and making them more dominant and violent would definitely jump his stock as a prospect but he has done more than enough to jump off the watchlist.   I think White Jr also has some positional versatility, players mostly guard for Canarsie - could see him being a Center at some point in his career if he can generate more explosiveness out of his stance.     McDowell is no doubt an interesting evaluation. He checks the size box and, frankly, does by a good margin - OL coaches will be mixed on his build, but I think he looks good for a big IOL - compact upper half with a lot of length in his arms. He will need to refine a little bit, but nothing a college weight room can't take care of.   On the field, there is a lot to like, but a couple of areas coaches will really try to get a look at during spring workouts and camps.   Raw power, McDowell is up there with anyone in New York, he really has a violent punch at the point of attack and can knock guys back significantly this also ties into his use of hands; he strikes the chest plate really well and when I saw him live, he had a block that knocked a guy back into a ref (injured the ref), and he did so with what looked like 60-70% effort.   Coaches will test his movement when they see him live. I thought he moved pretty well against West Babylon, but I saw it in a fairly one-sided game. Pad-Level, Get-Off, and Bend will be other things coaches try to pick at, but I have a straightforward bottom line here - McDowell has the power and violence to his game that is easily recruitable - the rest can be coached up and refined in the offseason.

2026 Rankings I have been working on and will be out as soon as I finish them up - going to highlight some guys currently on the Watchlist whose Jr tape I really liked - Some of these guys may make the rankings because their grades range all over from solid D3 guys to recruitable D1 prospects but they all showed some good stuff. Some of them where watchlist names like McDowell and Bonta who were expected to have big Jr years while players like Valentine and Baker got onto my radar because of their performances this season.