2027 NFL Draft - October Mock Draft

Entering the 2026 season, next spring's draft looked like it could be loaded at QB, WR, OT, EDGE, and CB. But football is a collision sport and injuries are always a factor. And injuries have depleted the depth at QB with season-ending injuries suffered to Julian Sayin (Ohio State) and Dante Moore (Oregon), and OT with the season-ending knee injury suffered by Trevor Goosby (Texas). But the WR class may be even better than advertised with at least a half dozen prospects looking like possible first day picks, most likely to be selected near the top of the first-round. 

1. LA Chargers

Jeremiah Smith / WR / Ohio State

Nothing is going right for the Chargers this fall and are now the only NFL team to have yet to win a game. And unlike most winless teams, LA has no hole at QB that needs to be filled - Justin Herbert is more of a sure thing than any QB prospect in this draft. This leaves the Chargers with a simple decision to draft Smith, the best WR prospect observed by SNS over the last 30 years. Yes in this scenario, a Michigan man drafts a Buckeye to help keep him employed in LA!

2. Tennessee

Colin Simmons / EDGE / Texas

Arguably the best prospect in the nation outside of Columbus, Ohio is Simmons, the Texas EDGE who has already recorded 10.5 sacks through the first six games of the season (Simmons has a high ankle sprain and could miss four games this fall for the Longhorns). Simmons is an elite athlete with a combination of length, quickness, agility, and explosiveness to be a difference maker at EDGE. QBs Mensah, Mestemaker, and Chambliss are all candidates to go here but the Titans decide to surround Ward with better talent as opposed to replacing him at the top of the draft.

3. Miami

Darian Mensah / QB / Miami, Fl

Malik Willis has been a competent starter for the Dolphins but a franchise QB is needed in South Florida. The Dolphins select Mensah because of his combination of skills, experience, maturity, and leadership give him the upside to be developed into a long-term starter in Miami.

4. Washington

Leonard Moore / CB / Notre Dame

The Commanders are concerned about the long-term health and availability of Jayden Daniels but decide to roll the dice on another season and draft Moore, one of the most complete CB prospects to enter the draft in years. Moore has the length, agility, closing burst, and ball skills to be a perennial All-Pro early in his career.

5. Houston

Jordan Seaton / OT / LSU

The Texans had Super Bowl aspirations entering this fall but have seen those hopes all but evaporate one-third of the way through the season. The offensive line has been an issue and an upgrade is needed at OLT. Seaton has elevated his performance this season in Baton Rouge and looks like an ideal blindside protector in the NFL.

6. NY Jets (via Colts)

Drew Mestemaker / QB / Oklahoma State

The Jets have three picks in the top eleven of this mock draft and need to come away from the 2027 NFL Draft with their franchise QB. Mestemaker transferred to Oklahoma State from North Texas and has displayed the arm talent, accuracy, and mental processing desired in a franchise QB. 

7. Arizona

KJ Duff / WR / Rutgers

The Cardinals traded away disappointing WR Marvin Harrison to the Texans and lack a playmaker to line up along with TE Trey McBride on the outside. Duff is big, fast, sure-handed, and surprisingly quick and agile deep threat who would give the Cards a true, number one WR. QB Trinidad Chambliss gets consideration here but his lack of height discourages the Cards from making that selection after their experience with Kyler Murray.

8. Tampa Bay

Charlie Becker / WR / Indiana

The Bucs kick the tire on drafting LB Chris Cole here but decide that they cannot pass on an elite playmaker with a freakish skill set like Becker. The IU wideout has a great combination of length, speed, leaping ability, and great hands (zero career dropped passes) to be a number one, All-Pro level WR.

9. NY Jets

Will Echoles / IDL / Ole Miss

The Jets have a chance to dramatically improve their roster with their three first-round picks and could go a number of ways with this selection. Echoles would give the Jets a replacement for Quinnen Williams, who they acquired with this pick, and would serve as a tremendous complement to rookie EDGE David Bailey. Echoles' combination of size, power, speed, and agility are elite and make him a potential impact starter.

10. New Orleans

Boubacar Traore / EDGE / Notre Dame

The Saints have their QB and their OTs seem set for the immediate future so it is time to improve the pass rush. Traore is a rapidly-ascending talent with the length and twitch desired on the EDGE. Traore's combination of length, agility, and speed is difficult to find and makes him a prospect worth monitoring.

11. NY Jets (via Cowboys)

Nick Marsh / WR / Indiana

The Jets, with their third first-round pick, consider drafting Georgia CB Ellis Robinson but decide that getting their new QB another weapon is a better use of their draft capital. Marsh has elevated his performance this season after transferring in from Michigan State. Marsh is physical, fast, and a productive game breaker who profiles as a number one WR in the NFL and would make NY's WR room one of the best in the league.

12. Philadelphia

Trinidad Chambliss / QB / Ole Miss

The Eagles seem to be at a crossroads with Jalen Hurts out for the season and seemingly falling out of favor with the team's management even before Hurts' blood clot situation. Chambliss started his career at Division 2 Ferris State, leading the Bulldogs to the national title before arriving in Oxford last fall and taking the Rebels to the national semifinals last winter. Chambliss passes the ball with NFL-level anticipation and ball placement and excels at the nuances of the position. Lack of height is the biggest knock against him so how tall he proves to be at the combine may impact his standing more than any attribute on the field does.

13. Las Vegas

Carter Smith / OT / Indiana

The Raiders have their QB of the future in Fernando Mendoza but need to improve his protection to maximize his potential. Smith is an under-the-radar OLT who may have his future elsewhere on the OL in the NFL. Smith is highly experienced with enough length, lateral agility, and tenacity to be a 10+ year starter at the next level.

14. Cleveland (via LA Rams)

Chris Cole / LB / Georgia

The Browns are perhaps the most surprising team in the NFL as we approach the midpoint of the season as they lead the AFC North under QB Deshaun Watson. Cleveland decides to select the Georgia off-the-ball LB with a freakish skill set of size, length, speed, and playmaking ability few LBs possess. 

15. Atlanta

Anthonie Knapp / OL / Notre Dame

The Falcons OL is aging and increasingly injury-proned and reinforcements are needed. Knapp, a Georgia native, would be returning home to an ideal situation as a versatile OL with experience at both OT and OG and could start anywhere along the line. Knapp is strong, agile, and smart and could be the first OL drafted next year.

16. Baltimore

Dylan Stewart / EDGE / South Carolina

In every NFL Draft, a top prospect seems to fall into Baltimore's lap. In this scenario, the enigmatic but immensely talented Stewart offers a tantalizing talent that the Ravens cannot resist. Stewart returned from a one-game suspension for behavior detrimental to the team and immediately became a difference-maker on the field in the Gamecocks' upset of Tennessee. Stewart will be a highly scrutinized prospect whenever he declares due to maturity issues but there is no disputing his talent as an elite EDGE with rare skills and abilities.

17. Seattle

Trevor Lauck / OT / Iowa

Seattle acquired OG Quenton Nelson from the Colts on Tuesday and have identified the need to upgrade the OL. Lauck is the prototypical Iowa OT with the length, technique, and tenacity to be a high-end, consistent starter at either OT spot.

18. New England

Ahmad Moten / IDL / Miami, Fl

Moten has been arguably the most consistent and reliable IDL in the nation so far this season, combining speed, agility, and power to push the pocket and shut down the run. Moten is shooting up draft boards with his prototypical size, length, twitch, and power checking every important box on the scouting checklist. Moten could be a top ten pick by the end of this season.

19. Carolina

Trey'Dez Green / TE / LSU

Green has battled nagging injuries so far this season but his combination of size, length, agility, leaping ability, and speed make him a mismatch piece to exploit against LBs and safeties in coverage. Bryce Young seems to have taken the next step this season and getting him a weapon like Green could make the Panthers virtually unstoppable.

20. Dallas (via Green Bay)

Arch Manning / QB / Texas

To be clear, Manning is not a first-round talent yet. His game has seemed to regress so far this season, he struggles in crunch time, and has not elevated his teammates' performance as desired for a franchise QB. But Manning's skills are elite and he possesses the size, arm strength, mobility, and the surname to be developed into a franchise QB. Dallas gambles on the name and upside with their first-round pick.

21. NY Giants

Cayden Green / OT / Missouri

The Giants need to improve their protection to keep their QB healthy after losing Jaxson Dart for the season. Green has premium size and starting experience at both OG and OT with the mirroring skills desired on the outside. Green could earn a top ten grade for next spring's draft, if he declares.

22. Jacksonville

Lance Heard / OT / Kentucky

Heard, a former 5-star recruit who has bounced around the SEC playing for LSU and Tennessee, prior to Kentucky, and has rare size and length and moves like a much smaller man. His upside is tremendous but his play has been inconsistent and he has trouble with elite pass rushing talent at times. But his physical attributes scream All-Pro and a lot of NFL OL coaches would love an opportunity to mold Heard into an NFL starter. The Jags need to upgrade their OL and Heard could play on either side of the line in the NFL.

23. Cincinnati

Ellis Robinson / CB / Georgia

The Bengals defense has dramatically improved since last season but additional talent is needed to make Cincinnati a true Super Bowl contender. Robinson is a top tier talent with the combination of length, quickness, and ball skills to be developed into a true number one, shutdown CB.

24. Pittsburgh

KJ Bolden / S / Georgia

The Steelers have a long history of having impactful safeties going from Donnie Shell in the 1970s to Troy Polamalu in the early 2000s, and when Pittsburgh is winning Super Bowls, they have dominate safeties. Bolden has prototypical size, length, and skill set to be a difference maker in the mode of Brian Branch or Budda Baker. Other safeties to be considered as possible first day picks next spring include Bray Hubbard (Alabama) and Koi Perich (Oregon).

25. Detroit

Jalen Mayo / CB / Houston

The Lions secondary has been getting torched this season and the lack of long, talented CBs who excel at man coverage have been a major contributor why. Mayo excelled at FCS Stephen F. Austin last season and then stepped up his game as he stepped up a level in competition this fall. Mayo's length and ball skills would fill a major void in Detroit's secondary.

26. Cleveland

CJ Carr / QB / Notre Dame

With the second of their two first-round picks, the Browns decide to take another spin at the roulette table of finding a franchise signal caller and select the Irish QB towards the end of the round. Carr could rapidly move up draft boards after the season-ending injuries suffered by Sayin and Moore with a strong finish to the season. Notre Dame has key games with Miami and SMU coming up and Carr will be given the opportunity to shine down the stretch this fall.

27. Denver

David Stone / IDL / Oklahoma

Denver's defense is absolutely loaded, albeit quite injured at this point in the season, but the DL is starting to get long in the tooth and reinforcements are needed. Stone has yet to play to his immense potential but his combination of size, power, and athleticism are special. The Broncos coaching staff may be able to unlock Stone's potential to be an All-Pro caliber player.

28. Chicago

Christian Gray / CB / Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish have three potential CBs who could get drafted in the first-round next spring (Moore, Gray, and DJ McKinney) and Gray brings special value with experience lining up outside and in the slot. Gray's versatility fits what the Bears like out of their DBs and allow Chicago to handle the dangerous WR corps in Green Bay, Minnesota,  and Detroit.

29. Buffalo

Zabien Brown / CB / Alabama

Buffalo's secondary continues to be an issue that hinders the Bills' ability to be true Super Bowl contenders. Brown has ideal size, length, experience, and ball skills to contribute immediately as a rookie. The potential 2027 NFL Draft CB class looks special and there are at least another half dozen prospects who may earn first-round grades next spring.

30. San Francisco

Reed Harris / WR / Arizona State

The Niners are arguably the most complete team in the NFL through the early part of the season but have had difficulty finding healthy WRs to field. Harris is a big, physical, fast, and extremely sure-handed (zero career dropped passes) outside WR who would give the Niners a strong WR to slide into the number one WR role.

31. Kansas City

Brice Pollock / CB / Texas Tech

The Chiefs decide to continue to add assets to their secondary and select Pollock, an experienced long-limbed CB with the ball skills and fluidity desired at CB. The only real question about Pollock is whether or not he has the speed desired in a starting NFL CB.

32. Minnesota

Carson Hinzman / IOL / Ohio State

Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores has been arguably the best coach in the NFL over the last several years and this year's defense is his best job yet. Fast. Long. Multiple looks. Very difficult for QB's to decipher. On the other hand, the offense has been unable to finish drives and upgrades are needed along the OL. Hinzman is the top potential center prospect for next spring's draft and would immediately upgrade the interior of the Vikings' line.