While grades, reactions and recaps from the 2026 NFL Draft are still fresh on the minds of NFL enthusiasts everywhere, the energy is slowly shifting towards the top talent of the 2027 NFL Draft class led by Texas quarterback Arch Manning.Â
Okay, maybe there is a little eagerness to start analyzing what’s to come next April before we get to see what No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza does in a Las Vegas Raiders uniform. Speaking of No. 1 overall picks, the eagerness to shift towards next April’s selection show is how deep the draft projects when it comes to the quarterback position.
Arch Manning building early case as 2027’s top pick
The one name at the top of the list is Manning. After a sluggish start to the 2025 college football season, the 6-foot-4, 225 QB brought back the buzz with a strong finish to the season that has him at the top of a talented QB class that features Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers.
Will Manning be the top of the heap? Will he be the latest Manning phenomenon to hit the NFL? The talent is there, but can he put together the type of season that will have QB-needy teams tanking by Week 4 of the 2026 NFL season?Â
There is some belief that some of those teams are already looking ahead to a draft class that is not only deep in QB talent but have some outstanding talents who will make teams pay close attention like South Carolina edge Dylan Stewart and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith.
So, who lands the projected top QB in the 2027 NFL Draft?
Early mock drafts keep pointing Arch Manning to one team
A look around way-too-early mock drafts suggests Manning is trending towards a particular team.
Fox Sports NFL Draft analyst Rob Rang based the order of his draft off DraftKings’ current Super Bowl odds. In reverse order, the Miami Dolphins would land the top pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. That is where Rang is predicting Manning to land.
Rang writes: “Given that nearly every pass (or run) he’s made in three years at Texas has been put under the microscope, one might guess that Manning’s career numbers (62.3% completion rate with a 35:9 touchdown-to-interception ratio) were much less impressive than they are. Boasting a tall, strong frame, a whip of an arm, excellent straight-line speed and the mental toughness that comes with all the expectations growing up as a Manning, he is the easy favorite to be the No. 1 overall pick next spring.”
A roster reset may suggest the Dolphins are in a complete rebuild. But, in signing Malik Willis to a three-year, $67.5 million contract, the Dolphins appear to have a vision, at least for the 2026 NFL season. If Willis proves he can be the starting QB he showed signs of being, Miami strikes gold. Otherwise, he could be the bridge for a QB like Manning and would be the most talented gunslinger the Dolphins have drafted since the great Dan Marino.
Arizona emerges as another possible Arch Manning landing spot
Another team in quarterback chaos is the Arizona Cardinals. ESPN’s Jordan Reed also has Manning as the No. 1 overall pick but going to a Cardinals team that finds themselves in the same position as the Dolphins from a roster standpoint.
After parting ways with Kyler Murray, the Cardinals are leaning on either Jacoby Brissett, Gardner Minshew, or 2026 NFL Draft pick Carson Beck to guide them through 2026. Unless Beck shows he can be the future, the Cardinals will be a team in hunt for the next guy. Reed sees Manning and 2026 top draft pick Jeremiyah Love as an intriguing QB-RB duo.
Reed writes: “Pairing Manning with Jeremiyah Love would give the Cardinals two elite building blocks. Manning, at 6-foot-4, 219 pounds, is a sturdy dual-threat quarterback. He finished with 3,163 passing yards, 26 touchdown throws and seven interceptions in his first year as a starter while adding 10 rushing touchdowns. Manning's throwing motion, footwork and progressions are still inconsistent, leading to scattershot ball placement and holding on to the ball too long, but he continued developing as the season went on.”
The roster reality behind this projected fit
Rounding out our look at way-too-early mock drafts, the mothership FanSided released predictions, and it is once again the Dolphins who are projected to land Manning with the No. 1 overall pick. FanSided’s Cody Williams sees Manning as the answer at the position noting how he looked in the second half of the 2025 season at Texas.
Williams writes: “Sure, the Miami Dolphins signed Malik Willis this offseason — but that's more of an experiment than a surefire plan at quarterback. I know some people will call this inflating Arch Manning artificially, but those people didn't watch the second half of last season. He came into his own with the Longhorns and displayed all the traits that you'd want to see in a No. 1 pick at quarterback.”
Interestingly, two of the three early mock drafts have Manning going to the Dolphins despite the signing of Willis. If that projection comes to fruition, it puts the Texas QB in the same division as both Josh Allen and Drake Maye. With the New York Jets projected to be in the mix for one of the top QBs, which could also land Dante Moore in the same division.Â
In all, the consensus in this early roundup is Manning is No. 1 until another prospect knocks him off the mantle. As far as landing spot, he has the Dolphins written all over him…as of a full year prior to the 2027 NFL Draft.
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