Mel Kiper Jr. has already put together his early read on the 2027 NFL draft quarterback class, and the top of the board leans heavily on returning starters who already have real production behind them.
Speaking with Field Yates on ESPN’s "First Draft," Kiper ranked his top five quarterback prospects heading into the 2026 college football season. Four of the five are returning starters, while the lone transfer in the group checks in at No. 5 after a huge year at North Texas.
That quarterback is Drew Mestemaker, who finished his first and only full season as the Mean Green’s starter by piling up an FBS-best 4,379 passing yards with 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He is now one of the key pieces Eric Morris is taking with him to Oklahoma State from North Texas’ 2025 offense. The move from the American Conference to the Big 12 is a significant step up for Mestemaker and that offense, and how he handles it could go a long way toward shaping his 2027 draft stock.
Trinidad Chambliss comes in next after a smooth rise from Division II Ferris State to Ole Miss and the SEC in 2025. The 6-foot, 200-pound quarterback threw for 3,937 yards, 22 touchdowns and three interceptions last season, while also adding 527 rushing yards and eight scores on the ground.
He will have new faces around him at wide receiver and offensive tackle in 2026, but he already showed last year that he can adapt quickly to a new environment. Age, though, may be a hurdle.
Chambliss is entering his sixth season of college football, and that could work against him when NFL teams start weighing his profile.
No. 3 on Kiper’s list is Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, who won a tight battle with current Kentucky starter Kenny Minchey to take over the Fighting Irish job in 2025. Carr’s first two starts ended in losses, but those came against Miami and Texas A&M, both College Football Playoff teams.
He responded by helping Notre Dame win its final 10 games, finishing those two early losses with 514 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions combined. The schedule in 2026 looks manageable again, with BYU and Miami showing up in the back half of the year, which should give Carr more time to settle in before the toughest tests arrive.
Arch Manning lands at No. 2 after powering Texas through a rough opening stretch last season. The Longhorns dropped the first half of their 2025 schedule but rallied to win seven of their final eight, including ranked wins over Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Texas A&M and Michigan.
Manning finished with 3,163 passing yards, 26 passing touchdowns and seven interceptions, plus 399 rushing yards and 10 more scores. Texas also worked to strengthen his supporting cast this offseason, adding help at running back, wide receiver and along the offensive line through the transfer portal.
Combined with Manning’s Pro Football Hall of Fame-caliber lineage, that makes him one of the most compelling names in the 2027 class.
At No. 1, Kiper went with Dante Moore, who would have been the No. 2 overall pick to the New York Jets in the 2026 NFL draft if he had turned pro.
Instead, he chose to stay at Oregon in January. Moore began the 2023 season as UCLA’s starter before redshirting after his transfer to Oregon the following offseason.
Last year, he threw for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading the Ducks to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Oregon should give him a strong setup again in 2026, with one of the nation’s best receiving groups and two 600-yard backs returning in Jordon Davison and Dierre Hill.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Changed How Indiana's Future Schedule Will Be Judged
Indianas future nonconference slate took another hit when its planned home-and-home series with Notre Dame for 2030-31 was canceled, removing one of the more recognizable games from the Hoosiers schedule. The change comes as Notre Dame moved to renew its rivalry with USC in a four-game series, keeping one of college footballs marquee matchups on the calendar and leaving Indiana to keep reshaping its own future dates.
For Indiana, the timing only sharpens the conversation around how its schedules will be judged going forward. The Hoosiers currently do not have any Power Four non-conference opponents lined up, a detail that has already drawn criticism about the strength of their future slates. Losing Notre Dame adds another layer to that scrutiny, especially with so much attention now on how programs position themselves for selection committees and public perception alike. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Just Added Real Heat To Notre Dame-USC Again
Lincoln Riley has put fresh attention back on one of college footballs most stubborn rivalries by revisiting the Notre Dame-USC scheduling issue. The USC coach pointed to the reality of the Trojans conference calendar as part of the reason the matchup has landed where it has, while also taking aim at Notre Dames choices along the way. It is the kind of public back-and-forth that keeps a long-running series from going stale, even when the games themselves are still years away.
For Notre Dame, the timing matters because the rivalry is officially set to restart in 2030, with the games scheduled early in the season. That only raises the stakes around every comment and countercomment between the two sides, especially when the conversation shifts from tradition to logistics. Rileys latest remarks do not change the calendar, but they do remind both fan bases that the tension around this series is already back in full view. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Still Waiting On The Indiana Matchup Fans Wanted
Indiana footballs future non-conference slate has been drawing attention, and not in the way Notre Dame fans had hoped. Under Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have mapped out a schedule through 2029 that stays away from any Power Four opponent outside the Big Ten, a sharp turn from the kind of game that can make an autumn calendar feel a little bigger.
Indiana had previously had games with Virginia and Louisville on the books before moving on to lighter opponents, and Cignetti has described the approach as SEC-style in its emphasis on conference play. For Notre Dame, though, the matchup people keep circling is still a ways off, with the first series between the programs now slated for 2030-31. [Read more 🡒]