The 2026 NFL Draft just happened a few weeks ago and the 2027 class is already getting hyped as potentially better. That is not casual analyst noise. That is what scouts and front offices are actually saying.
The headliner is Arch Manning. The Texas quarterback is finally ready to take a starting job that has been waiting for him since his five-star high school days. Manning showed massive improvement in the back half of last season, and 2026 is widely expected to be the year he puts everything together. The bloodline plus the physical tools plus a starting role at Texas is the most-anticipated college quarterback storyline in years.
Behind him is Dante Moore, who already could have been a first-round pick in 2026. Moore decided to return to Oregon after finishing with 3,565 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and just 10 interceptions while completing 71.8 percent of his passes. Those are top-five-pick numbers. Moore chose another year of college and the chance to push his stock even higher in 2027.
Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Ole Miss transfer Trinidad Chambliss round out the top of a quarterback class that should be loaded from pick one through pick 50.
The really scary part for 2027 NFL teams is not just the quarterbacks. It is the wide receiver depth. Jeremiah Smith leads that group. The Ohio State sophomore is 6-foot-3 and 223 pounds and is being talked about as the best wide receiver prospect to enter a draft cycle since Calvin Johnson or Larry Fitzgerald. Those are not throwaway comparisons. Those are the names everyone uses when describing what a top-tier wide receiver should look like.
If Smith stays healthy and produces in 2026 the way he did as a freshman, he could be the No. 1 overall pick in 2027. Wide receivers do not usually go first overall, but the rules have changed and the position is too important to ignore.
For NFL teams that did not get a quarterback in 2026 or did not land a long-term answer, this is the class that will solve their problem. The Browns, Giants, Raiders, Jets, and several other franchises are already eyeing 2027 as their real solution year.
The CBS Sports analysis frames it well. The 2027 class has the chance to rival 2024 in terms of quarterback depth and the sheer volume of talent across positions. The 2024 class produced multiple Pro Bowl quarterbacks and a generational running back in Caleb Williams’ draft year. 2027 could match that.
The Browns and Giants are the most-discussed early candidates to take a 2027 quarterback at the top of the draft. Both are still searching for their long-term answer. Both have plenty of draft capital to move up if needed.
The 2027 NFL Draft is still 11 months away. The 2026 college football season starts in two and a half months. By the end of October, the conversation will be about Arch Manning’s Heisman case and which NFL team is tanking the hardest to land him.
It is going to be an extraordinarily fun year.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
