Bay Area Breakout Candidates: 2026 Edge Defenders

<p class="text-gray-700">The Pittsburg prospect is one of the top players in all of northern California, and one of the most productive edge prospects in the state. He is a high IQ player with tremendous pre-snap IQ and block recognition abilities off the edge. He explodes out of his stance with violent hands and does a great job setting the edge and taking on pullers across the line and quickly getting into the backfield. He shows a variety of power rush moves off the edge and is a natural bender with tremendous strength and power at the point of attack. Overall, Tofaeono is a very well rounded edge prospect that has a high understanding of the position and is going to be a absolute steal for a college program. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/JaphethTofaeon1/status/1877745817932742789 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">The Amador Valley product is one of the top two-way players across the Bay Area and is another candidate to be a nice steal at the next level. He is physical at the point of attack with violent hands from both his tight end and defensive end position and covers ground quickly when collapsing the pocket while able to win with both speed and power off the edge. He does a good job at using his length to his advantage, keeping blockers off his chest and shows he can counter back inside if needed and has quick block recognition/destruction. He is in line to have a breakout senior season campaign and should continue drawing college interest through the spring and summer.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/mckaykenitzer/status/1880136861500469548 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Littlejohn is another one of the top two-way players across the Bay Area, and can play anywhere in the box and is a very effective pass rusher that uses his speed, twitch, and a quick use of hands at the point of attack. He's a balanced edge player against the run as well and is seemingly always around the ball making plays behind the line. He is explosive off the ball and gets a good jump when pass rushing and is a high motor player that consistently makes plays behind the line and explodes through contact when denting pullers or taking on bigger backs. Heading into the 2025 season, he should have a bounce back Senior year and draw plenty of college interest.</p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/dlittlez/status/1891293020231745668 </div></figure>     <p class="text-gray-700">Bruce is able to play anywhere along the defensive line and offers a solid frame and good length for either edge or the interior position in college. He snaps out of his stance with violent hands and does a good job at resetting the line without giving up ground and can provide a consistent pass rush from the edge. He shows closing speed when collapsing the pocket and good change of direction/lateral movement abilities in tight windows and is a natural bender in his stance that can take on double teams/set the edge with ease. He is a high motor kid that shows backside pursuit and is fluid in space, especially for his size. He is poised for a breakout Senior season and should draw plenty of college interest. </p>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/zach_bruce81/status/1899179703250174385 </div></figure>