With NFL training camps opening, the draft crowd is already shifting its attention to 2027, and the latest one-round projection puts Texas quarterback Arch Manning in a familiar spot: No. 1 overall to the Arizona Cardinals.
The updated mock also sends Ohio State wideout Jeremiah Smith to the Miami Dolphins at No. 2, setting up an early board that leans heavily on star power at the top. The exercise is framed as a projection built from current college rosters and team needs heading into the 2026 season, not a peek at any actual front-office plan.
Quarterback value is thin in this version of the board, at least for now. Manning is the lone passer projected to go first overall, while Oregon’s Dante Moore comes off next at No. 3 to the New York Jets. The authors note that the picture could change quickly once the season gets rolling and more quarterbacks emerge.
Manning’s placement comes with a clear expectation attached: he is projected to “continue to develop as a passer and cement his spot on top” by draft time. For Arizona, the mock casts him as the kind of foundational answer teams spend years trying to find.
The receiver group is a major part of the early story, too. Smith at No. 2 is tied to Miami’s need for more help around a young quarterback room. Texas receiver Cam Coleman is projected to the Raiders at No. 5, while Indiana’s Charlie Becker and Oklahoma’s Wyatt Young also land in the first-round receiver mix.
Defense, though, is what really crowds the middle of the round. Nine of the first 17 picks go to defensive players in this projection, with edge rushers and defensive backs doing most of the heavy lifting. South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart goes fourth to Cleveland as a potential Myles Garrett heir, and Texas edge Colin Simmons is slotted seventh to Tennessee.
Notre Dame keeps showing up in the early defensive-back conversation. Cornerback Leonard Moore goes to Carolina at No. 8, and safety Tae Johnson lands with the Giants at No.
- The mock treats that as part of Notre Dame’s recent run of producing early-round defensive backs.
There’s also a lone running back in the first round: Ole Miss’s Kewan Lacy to the Cincinnati Bengals at No. 17. The mock calls him the clear top back in the class, which stands out in a draft cycle that is otherwise light on premium running back talent this early.
Up front, the offensive line group is described as thinner than usual at tackle. Texas tackle Trevor Goosby and Ohio State guard Austin Siereveld head that group, though the authors suggest several linemen could climb once the season begins.
One of the stranger late-round projections has Kansas City taking Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker at No. 28 as developmental insurance behind Patrick Mahomes. It’s the kind of pick that goes against the grain for a team drafting that late with a Super Bowl-caliber roster, but it’s part of the mock all the same.
The round closes with another Texas name: Ryan Wingo to the Cleveland Browns at No. 32. That gives Texas a strong footprint near the top and bottom of the first round in this early look.
As for what this all means, the answer is simple: not much in the immediate sense, but enough to spark the conversation. A full college season, an NFL season, coaching changes, injuries, and early-declare decisions still sit between now and the real 2027 draft. For the moment, though, this board offers an early snapshot of which programs are already generating the most buzz.
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