The 2027 NFL Draft is still a long way off, but ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. has already started sketching the board at quarterback, wide receiver, edge rusher, cornerback and offensive tackle. Working alongside Field Yates on ESPN’s First Draft, Kiper laid out a top three at each spot, while also making clear this is just a snapshot of where things stand right now.
And Kiper didn’t pretend this was anything more than that.
“This is why we should never have any ranking until at least mid-October,” Kiper suggested.
That caution matters because the season is barely underway. Through three weeks, most teams have been living mostly in non-conference play, where the competition often isn’t the same as what’s coming later. Kiper’s point was simple: the board is still moving, and it’s going to keep moving.
At quarterback, Kiper’s current top three are Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss, CJ Carr of Notre Dame and Drew Mestemaker of Oklahoma State. Yates matched Chambliss at No. 1, but then went with Mestemaker and USC’s Jayden Maiava behind him.
The quarterbacks are already drawing the most attention, and this year’s group looks crowded enough that Kiper said as many as 10 prospects or more could realistically land in the top 50. One name that stood out by his absence from Kiper’s list was Miami’s Darian Mensah, who has put together eye-popping numbers.
Here’s where the quarterbacks stand statistically right now:
Trinidad Chambliss: 77 of 110 (70%), 924 yards, 7 touchdowns, 2 interceptions
CJ Carr: 53 of 73 (72.6%), 726 yards, 6 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Drew Mestemaker: 75 of 114 (65.8%), 882 yards, 8 touchdowns, 4 interceptions
Jayden Maiava (4 games*): 87 of 115 (75.7%), 1173 yards, 12 touchdowns, 1 interception
Darian Mensah: 71 0f 79 (89.9%), 873 yards, 11 touchdowns, 0 interceptions
Kiper’s hesitation about ranking this early also led him to include a separate “projected” top three at quarterback, which gives a better sense of where the broader conversation might head by draft time. That projected group was Dante Moore of Oregon, Arch Manning of Texas and Mestemaker.
Yates’ quarterback list was slightly different, with Chambliss first, Mestemaker second and Jayden Maiava third.
Elsewhere, the two analysts were largely aligned. At wide receiver, both had Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State at No. 1, followed by Cam Coleman of Texas and Charlie Becker of Indiana. On the edge, Kiper went with Colin Simmons of Texas, Dylan Stewart of South Carolina and Alabama’s Yhonzae Pierre and Devon Thompkins, while Yates flipped Simmons and Stewart and added Damon Wilson II of Miami.
The cornerback rankings matched up completely: Leonard Moore of Notre Dame, Ellis Robinson IV of Georgia and Ashton Hampton of Clemson. Offensive tackle was also identical for both analysts, with Trevor Goosby of Texas, Jordan Seaton of LSU and Trevor Lauck of Iowa.
Kiper also listed a broader group of draft-eligible quarterbacks expected to go somewhat early: Dante Moore, Arch Manning, Julian Sayin of Ohio State, Drew Mestemaker, CJ Carr, Darian Mensah, LaNorris Sellers of South Carolina, Trinidad Chambliss, Sam Leavitt of LSU, Jayden Maiava, Brendan Sorsby, Nico Iamaleava, DJ Lagway and Josh Hoover.
Sorsby, according to the source, has been ruled ineligible and will sit out the 2026 college football season before potentially applying to be considered for the 2027 NFL Draft.
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