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First Scouting Look At The 2027 Quarterback Class
May 20, 2026Ethan WoodieNFL Trade Rumors
Getting things ready
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Dillon Gabriel
QB · CLE · #startrecommendation
...o&utm_campaign=2026-05-19_pfr" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Dillon Gabriel for a year. He took over as the starter in 2025, posting 3,56...
Quinn Ewers
QB · MIA · #general
...o&utm_campaign=2026-05-19_pfr" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">Quinn Ewers in 2024. He looked so good in those games that the hype was t...
Fernando Mendoza
QB · LV · #general
...r the 2026 draft, he might’ve been the No. 1 overall pick ahead of Fernando Mendoza . That’s how good he looked by the end of the season. Still, consi...
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The dust has barely settled on the 2026 draft class, but there’s no rest for the weary as far as scouting is concerned. I actually started doing my homework on the 2027 class back in March, and it’s an exciting group to watch as a fan of the sport. There are a lot of excellent prospects to watch in college football this upcoming season. Since I start my scouting each summer with quarterbacks, a lot of the early work was already done this time around. Many of these prospects were eligible to declare this past cycle, and some of them nearly did. There were a few surprising names who withdrew from the class, but it gives them a chance to continue to grow and get better. As far as how good this class looks? Very. At least three of these quarterbacks would have been first-round picks in 2026 had they declared, and that’s not including the newly eligible players or the fact that all of them can continue to grow and get better. All 10 of the prospects in this article have a path to a first-round selection, and I’d rate four of them as having first-round grades from me right now. 1: Darian Mensah, Miami I had Mensah in my top 50 last summer, well ahead of the consensus. A three-star recruit and high school basketball player from California, he won the starting job at Tulane as a redshirt freshman despite beginning the spring as fourth on the depth chart. After a great season, he transferred to Duke and blew up on a bigger stage, earning second-team All-ACC honors with 3,973 passing yards and 34 touchdowns to just six interceptions. That performance prompted Miami to swoop in, and Mensah will have a chance to throw gasoline on his stock with a good season for the 2025 national runner-ups. Mensah isn’t the most physically imposing player, listed at just 6-3, 205 pounds. But he plays the game at a level well beyond his years, with plus accuracy and playmaking being hallmarks of his style. Despite lacking premium arm talent, he makes NFL throws on the regular, whipping passes across his body and hitting opposite sideline windows with both zip and touch. Mensah can fire off difficult passes from a variety of arm angles and makes a lot of plays out of structure. He’s not a rushing threat, but he has great pocket awareness and feel for incoming rushers, dodging traffic in the pocket to keep plays alive and find his receivers for big plays. He got this under control at Duke somewhat, but Mensah can be a bit of a gunslinger. That impressive touchdown-to-interception ratio is somewhat deceptive, and he’s not afraid to make high-risk throws for big rewards. I’d like to see him get stronger, as well, since his frame could stand to add some weight to hold up to the hits he’ll take in the NFL. But make no mistake: Mensah would have been a first-round pick had he declared last cycle, and I believe he has all the skills to be a stud at the next level. 2: Jayden Maiava, USC A 6-4, 225-pound redshirt senior from Hawaii, Maiava began his career as a three-star recruit at UNLV. After winning Mountain West Freshman of the Year honors in 2023, he transferred to the Trojans, becoming the full-time starter in 2025. He turned in a third-team All-Big Ten season with 3,711 passing yards and 24 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, adding 157 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. There isn’t a better touch passer in this class than Maiava. There are so many different types of passes he can deliver from a variety of platforms, and he can beat the rush and the coverage…