Mel Kiper Jr. and Field Yates are already laying down an early map for the 2027 NFL Draft, and the quarterback board is where the real intrigue starts.
It’s only September, but ESPN’s First Draft is putting names to five position groups now: quarterback, wide receiver, edge-rusher, cornerback and offensive tackle. The point, as Kiper made clear, isn’t to predict the May draft order. It’s to establish a baseline before the season reshapes everything.
Kiper didn’t exactly sound eager about doing this so soon, either. He said, “This is why we should never have any ranking until at least mid-October,” and the reasoning is obvious: through three weeks, a lot of teams are still working through non-conference games against lower-level competition. The rankings are meant to move.
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 has the same No. 1 in Chambliss, but flips the rest, putting Mestemaker second and Jayden Maiava of USC third.
That early QB race already has some noise around it. Kiper’s list leaves out Miami’s Darian Mensah, even though the numbers make a strong case for him to be in the conversation. Kiper also noted that Chambliss might be the top quarterback right now after Ole Miss’ huge win over LSU, but that doesn’t automatically mean he’ll be the first one taken when draft night comes around.
The raw production is part of why this group is drawing so much attention. Chambliss has gone 77 of 110 for 924 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
Carr has completed 53 of 73 passes for 726 yards, six touchdowns and no picks. Mestemaker has thrown for 882 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions on 75 of 114 passing.
Maiava, in four games, has 87 completions on 115 attempts for 1,173 yards, 12 touchdowns and one interception. Mensah has been even sharper on efficiency, completing 71 of 79 passes for 873 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions.
Kiper also went a step further and added a “projected” top three at quarterback, separating his current view from what the broader draft picture might look like later. That list features Dante Moore of Oregon, Arch Manning of Texas and Mestemaker.
The rest of the positional rankings are just as early, and just as fluid. At receiver, both analysts have Jeremiah Smith of Ohio State, Cam Coleman of Texas and Charlie Becker of Indiana in the top three. On the edge, Kiper goes with Colin Simmons of Texas, Dylan Stewart of South Carolina and Yhonzae Pierre and Devon Thompkins of Alabama, while Yates has Stewart first, Simmons second and Damon Wilson II of Miami third.
Cornerback is identical between the two: Leonard Moore of Notre Dame, Ellis Robinson IV of Georgia and Ashton Hampton of Clemson. Offensive tackle is also the same across the board, with Trevor Goosby of Texas, Jordan Seaton of LSU and Trevor Lauck of Iowa.
Kiper’s projected quarterback list is where the wider draft conversation starts to open up, but even there, the board is still very much in motion. The article points to a long list of draft-eligible quarterbacks expected to go somewhat early, including 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, Nico Iamaleava of UCLA, DJ Lagway of Baylor and Josh Hoover of Indiana.
Brendan Sorsby is also listed, but he has been ruled ineligible and will sit out the 2026 college football season and could apply to be considered for the 2027 NFL Draft.
In Other News...
LSU Fans Have A New Reason To Be Furious About Ole Miss
Lane Kiffin left Oxford with more than a loss to sort through after LSUs trip to face Ole Miss, zeroing in on what he described as a rules issue tied to the in-game atmosphere. He said the music and crowd noise kept rolling as the centers hand was on the ball, which he argued runs afoul of SEC regulations that require music to stop before the snap.
The complaint only adds another layer to a night LSU would rather forget, with Ole Miss staying unbeaten and the Tigers taking their first loss of the season. For Rebels fans, it is the kind of gripe that usually follows a home win in a loud building, but for LSU it gives the defeat an even sharper edge as the postgame debate shifts from the scoreboard to how the game was played. [Read more 🡒]
Urban Meyer Just Validated What Florida Fans Are Starting To Believe
Florida has spent the week trying to build on the kind of performance that can change a season, and Urban Meyer just added another voice to the optimism around the Gators. Now working as an analyst and part of The Triple Option podcast, Meyer said he expects Florida to beat Ole Miss in the upcoming matchup, pointing to the way the Gators have been playing and the coaching behind it.
Jadan Baugh is part of what Meyer likes about Floridas chances, with the running back emerging as a key piece in the offense. For Ole Miss, it adds another layer to a game already carrying plenty of attention, especially with both teams coming in off recent performances that have shaped how this meeting is being viewed. [Read more 🡒]
Ole Miss Faces A No. 1 Test Some Insiders Don't Trust Them To Pass
Ole Miss is headed into a marquee SEC matchup with plenty of momentum, but not everyone around the sport is sold on the Rebels carrying that confidence into the next step. Both teams arrive at 3-0 after recent conference wins, and the stage is set around quarterback Trinidad Chambliss for Ole Miss and Florida running back Jadan Baugh for the Gators, two players who have helped give their teams early-season belief.
Even Rece Davis, who placed Ole Miss No. 1 in the AP Poll, leaned the other way when it came to the actual result and picked Florida to win. That kind of split view only adds to the intrigue, because it captures the larger question around this game - whether Ole Miss is ready to back up its ranking against a Florida team that has also shown it can handle SEC pressure. [Read more 🡒]