Week 4 of the college football season showed just how unpredictable things can be from week to week.
While some of the top quarterbacks in the nation put together strong performances in victory, one of the biggest names in the 2027 NFL Draft conversation suffered a scare when Dante Moore took a scary hit while scrambling outside the pocket.
We also saw another top quarterback, Arch Manning, struggle to get going against a hungry Tennessee team that sacked him six times. While he showed toughness in the narrow victory, the lack of explosiveness from Manning and the Longhorns’ offense is starting to spark concern.
A few quarterbacks who aren't sparking concern are Miami’s Darian Mensah, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker.
With Moore sidelined and Manning struggling with consistency, there was plenty of room for movement behind the No. 1 spot. So, who climbed and who fell in this week’s top five?
2027 NFL Draft QB rankings: The top 5
Rank | Quarterback | School |
|---|---|---|
1 | Darian Mensah | Miami |
2 | CJ Carr | Notre Dame |
3 | Arch Manning | Texas |
4 | Julian Sayin | Ohio State |
5 | Drew Mestemaker | Oklahoma State |
No. 1 Darian Mensah, Miami
Hey, what can you say?
The eye test looks great when it comes to Darian Mensah and how flawlessly he is playing through the first four weeks as the quarterback of the Miami Hurricanes.
No, the competition hasn’t quite been elite, but Mensah is doing everything he is supposed to do at the quarterback position. He continued his outstanding accuracy in Week 4 against Central Michigan. In the team’s 52-3 victory, Mensah completed 85.2 percent of his passes for 338 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions.
Mensah also rushed for 21 yards and another touchdown. While further elevating himself in the Heisman Trophy conversation, Mensah continues to rise as one of the top quarterbacks entering the 2027 NFL Draft.
Again, while the competition hasn’t been at an elite level, he has been consistent through the first four weeks with his precision and high-level quarterback play.
That consistency is what puts him at No. 1 in the NFL Mocks QB rankings.
No. 2 CJ Carr, Notre Dame
Okay, CJ Carr hasn’t been the flashiest quarterback, but he has looked like one of the most pro-ready passers through the first four weeks of the college football season.
In leading No. 3-ranked Notre Dame to a 49-10 victory over Purdue, Carr accounted for four touchdowns in the win. Overall, he went 14-of-22 for 237 passing yards with three touchdowns and an interception. He rushed for his other touchdown in the dominant road victory.
With a passer rating of 190.0, Carr continued to rank among the top quarterbacks in that area with a season rating of 184.4. That, in my book, is what moves Carr to No. 2 this week.
He is a quarterback who makes the right plays, stays within the system of the offense and just produces.
Again, he’s not flashy with a huge arm or a quarterback who wows you with a ton of passing yards, but his proficiency, pocket presence, balance and decision-making in key moments are why he continues to rise in both the Heisman conversation and these rankings.
If Carr keeps playing this way, NFL teams will have to strongly consider him as a potential top-10 pick if he declares for the 2027 NFL Draft.
No. 3 Arch Manning, Texas
Arch Manning’s signature moment of the 2026 college football season so far occurred in Week 2 when Manning led the Texas Longhorns to a come-from-behind victory over then-No. 1 Ohio State.
Since then, Manning has kind of been blah.
In the Week 4 matchup against Tennessee, Manning wasn’t his best in a near-upset loss to the Vols. While the Longhorns’ defense was lights out, the offense sputtered. Manning, who took six sacks on the day, went 14-of-19 for 201 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception.
Despite showing toughness throughout the game, Manning’s inconsistency reared its head again, leading to him dropping another spot in these rankings.
For a quarterback still viewed as one of the biggest names in the 2027 NFL Draft class, the next challenge could tell us plenty about whether this slide is temporary or something worth watching.
With the Longhorns facing another tough test, Manning will have another opportunity to show he belongs in the top-five conversation for the 2027 NFL Draft.
He needs to have a game against a formidable opponent in which he shines from beginning to end.
No. 4 Julian Sayin, Ohio State
The Ohio State quarterback jumps back into the top five this week after leading the Buckeyes to a 42-19 victory over Illinois.
While Jeremiah Smith was the story, racking up 12 receptions for 217 yards and four receiving touchdowns, credit must be given to the man delivering him the ball.
Julian Sayin has been consistent all season long with strong quarterback play. Except for the second half in the team’s lone loss against Texas, Sayin has been basically unstoppable.
In Week 4, Sayin completed 27-of-36 passes for 367 yards and four touchdowns, all of them going to Smith. He also showed off a bit of his dual-threat ability with 29 yards on seven carries and another touchdown.
Although there are some questions about Sayin at the next level due to being a little undersized and the talent around him, he is doing what he needs to do to keep his team winning.
Also, what quarterback wouldn’t excel with a wide receiver like Smith?
The key is getting the ball into his hands and allowing him to dominate. Sayin has mastered that over the last season and a quarter.
No. 5 Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
We are giving Drew Mestemaker his roses this week and catapulting him into the top five.
After a couple of weeks of knocking on the door, Mestemaker has now kicked it open after another dominant performance in Week 4. In a 41-24 victory over West Virginia, the Oklahoma State quarterback completed 68.8 percent of his passes for 389 yards with three passing touchdowns and an interception.
While he didn’t use his legs as much in this game, Mestemaker continued to wow with his deep-passing explosiveness.
After a tough start to the season, the North Texas transfer is proving he is Big 12 ready by leading the Cowboys to No. 19 in the national rankings. That gives him the nod this week over Trinidad Chambliss, who falls out of the top five following a blowout loss to Florida.
With Mestemaker’s biggest win this season coming in an upset victory over Dante Moore and the Oregon Ducks, he gets the nod over Moore as well.
Mestemaker may be the biggest surprise in this week’s rankings, but if he continues producing like this, his stay in the top five might not be a short one.
Who could crash the top five?
Speaking of Moore, his noticeable absence from our weekly top five is mostly due to the injury he suffered in the team’s win over USC.
When healthy and on the field, the Ducks quarterback is still one of the top quarterbacks in the nation. Fortunately, Oregon has a bye in Week 5, which will give Moore time to recover after entering concussion protocol following the hit he took against USC.
After cracking the top five, Chambliss falls back just a little due to the 52-28 loss to Florida. We do expect him to bounce back and knock on the door again, especially if he gets more of a team effort around him.
In the loss, Chambliss wasn’t bad. He showed some resilience with 342 total yards from scrimmage. With 278 of those yards coming through the air and the other 64 coming on the ground, Chambliss continues to show his dual-threat ability.
The problem is, he can’t do it alone.
Another 2027 QB prospect to keep an eye on is Minnesota’s Drake Lindsey. In the Golden Gophers’ 27-24 road victory over the Washington Huskies, Lindsey completed 72.4 percent of his passes for 204 yards, three touchdowns and an interception.
Like top prospects CJ Carr and Dante Moore, Lindsey continues to draw praise for his pocket presence and arm strength.
With Minnesota facing Michigan in its next game, Lindsey has a major opportunity to put his name on the map and make his own push toward the top five.
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