The 2026 NFL Draft hasn’t even started yet, but NFL teams are already looking ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft, particularly due to the hype of the quarterback class.
That was once how the 2026 QB class was viewed entering the 2025 season, but things fell flat for a number of big names. Now two weeks out from the draft in Pittsburgh, NFL teams have shifted their attention from a middling class featuring potentially just two first-rounders in Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson to the 2027 class.
At least, that’s according to The Athletic’s Dane Brugler.
Appearing on The Rich Eisen Show Thursday, Brugler said many conversations he’s had with teams around the league regarding quarterbacks have shifted to the 2027 class. He said teams are getting started on advanced scouting of the hyped-up class led by the likes of Texas’ Arch Manning, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon’s Dante Moore, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and more.
“Going back to the Combine and talking to teams and scouts, it’s funny how often the 2027 quarterback class was brought up organically,” Brugler said, according to video via the Eisen Show. “Teams already have their eye on next year’s class. And that’s not unusual. “I think teams are always advanced scouting.”
Good teams are always advanced scouting. Those teams with stability trust their scouts to know when they need to be aggressive on a quarterback class, or when to punt entirely, like many teams could do in the 2026 NFL Draft Class.
Mendoza is expected to land at No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, while Simpson could go in the first round, or could wind up early in the second round. After that, one NFL insider said it wouldn’t be a surprise if those were the only two quarterbacks taken in the first two days.
If that winds up being the case, that could be a huge signal that teams really are looking to 2027 and beyond at the position. There should still be roughly 10 quarterbacks drafted over the three days in Pittsburgh, but if many are on Day 3, that doesn’t bode well for their long-term futures and chances at starting.
That will also allow teams — like, say, the Pittsburgh Steelers — to position themselves for the 2027 class that continues to generate a ton of buzz in the search for a franchise quarterback.
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