Mel Kiper Jr. Predicts 5+ 1st-Round QBs in 2027 NFL Draft amid Arch Manning, Dante Moore Buzz

ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. is expecting a quarterback-heavy first round of the 2027 NFL draft.

Kiper said he expects five or six quarterbacks to be taken in the first round of next year's draft.

"The 2026 group fizzled, but the excitement around the 2027 class seems real. That's at least in part because a handful of the quarterbacks we thought might come out in 2026 decided to stay in college for another go-around after it was clear they needed more experience and to refine some parts of their games," Kiper wrote. "That means more prepared passers and less projection in 2027. And I'll go out on a limb and say we get five -- maybe even six -- quarterbacks in Round 1 next April."

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That would be quite the increase from the 2026 draft, when just two quarterbacks were taken in the first round — one of whom was a pretty big surprise — but the hype around this year's class is equal to that of the 2024 class, which produced Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels and Bo Nix.

The headliners of the 2026 quarterback class are Oregon's Dante Moore and Texas' Arch Manning. Moore was widely expected to enter the draft last year and even made a strong case to be taken over Fernando Mendoza, but he opted for another year with the Ducks.

Manning had a solid first season as the Longhorns' starter in 2025 and should only get better this year.

From there, some first-round potentials include Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker, Ohio State's Julian Sayin and USC's Jayden Maiava. Other candidates will reveal themselves as the season continues.