2027 NFL Draft: Former NFL general manager's offensive positional rankings and prospects to monitor

CBS Sports' With the First Pick podcast has been going through its summer scouting exercise in an effort to provide fans with prospects to monitor for the upcoming college football season. Former Titans general manager Ran Carthon and analyst Ryan Wilson pooled their individual rankings, position by position, to compile a composite list. 

There were 19 offensive prospects selected in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Having surveyed the talent eligible for next year's event, the first round may continue to skew towards the offense. Everyone wants to talk about the quarterbacks, but the wide receiver class has a chance to be loaded as well. 

Who are the prospects to know as the college football season commences in August?

The 2027 NFL Draft takes place from April 29-May 1 at the National Mall in Washington D.C. 

Quarterback

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore and Texas quarterback Arch Manning were the consensus top-two quarterbacks. Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby was excluded from the composite quarterback rankings because he will not play college football this fall, but was on the top-five list for both individuals. Ohio State's Julian Sayin was the only other quarterback among the top five on both lists. LSU's Sam Leavitt and USC's Jayden Maiva each received a vote at No. 5 on their respective lists. 

Moore's path is particularly noteworthy. After winning two state championships in high school, he was a top-5 overall recruit and signed with UCLA after being committed to Oregon. His freshman season with the Bruins was so volatile that he transferred to Eugene and sat behind Dillon Gabriel for a year. The Michigan native could have entered the 2026 NFL Draft and likely been a top-10 overall pick, but elected to return for another season. 

Miami's Darian Mensah, Notre Dame's CJ Carr, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker and UCLA's Nico Iamaleava were honorable mentions. 

It did come as a surprise that South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers was not among the top 10 on either list. Sellers is unrefined as a passer, but has an excellent frame and athletic profile. Minnesota's Drake Lindsey is another to watch as he operates like a professional in the pocket. 

With the exception of the 2022 NFL Draft, at least two quarterbacks have been taken in the first round every year dating back to the 2014 NFL Draft. 

Running backs

Missouri's Ahmad Hardy is Wilson's top running back whereas Florida's Jadan Baugh is in the pole position for ex-Gator Carthon. Those two players, as well as Ole Miss' Kewan Lacy, were unanimous inclusions in the top-five lists. Louisville's Isaac Brown and Georgia's Nate Frazier were the other two running backs among Wilson's top five. Miami's Mark Fletcher and BYU's LJ Martin made Carthon's list. 

Texas' Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, Georgia Tech's Justice Haynes, also received votes among the top 10 at the position. 

There were two running backs taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft and just three in the top-100 overall. Over the past five years, there have been 26 running backs taken in the top-100 overall. Only three have been listed sub-200 pounds: Tyjae Spears (195), De'Von Achane (191) and James Cook III (190). 

Wide receivers

Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith was the undisputed No. 1 wide receiver as part of this class. Texas' Cam Coleman, Alabama's Ryan Coleman-Williams and Indiana's Charlie Becker also made the top five for both Wilson and Carthon. Rutgers' KJ Duff was as high as No. 2, whereas Carthon graded Texas' Ryan Wingo all the way up at No. 4 overall. 

Indiana, Texas A&M and Texas were the only three schools with more than one representative among the top-10. Nick Marsh (Indiana), Mario Craver (Texas A&M) and Isaiah Horton (Texas A&M) join a pair of Longhorns and Becker. South Carolina's Nyck Harbor, Florida State's Duce Robinson, Clemson's TJ Moore, Arizona State's Omarion Miller and Tennessee's Braylon Staley were the others to receive votes. 

Over the past five years, the league has averaged 5.2 wide receivers taken in the first round. 

The wide receiver position is one where rankings vary significantly from pre-season to post-season. Indiana's Omar Cooper Jr. and Texas A&M's K.C. Concepcion are among the players who used strong seasons to send their respective stocks to the moon; even Carnell Tate was not regarded as a top-10 overall prospect entering his senior campaign. Notre Dame's Jordan Faison, Clemson's Bryant Wesco, Ohio State's Devin McCuin and Tennessee's Mike Matthews are a few others to monitor. 

Tight ends

Oregon's Jamari Johnson and LSU's Trey'Dez Green were the top two tight ends, but in different order. Those were the only two to share a spot among the top five for both Wilson and Carthon. 

Texas Tech's Terrance Carter Jr., Virginia Tech's Luke Reynolds, Temple's Peter Clarke, Georgia's Lawson Luckie, Iowa's DJ Vonnahme, Washington's Decker DeGraaf, New Mexico's Dorian Thomas and Penn State's Benjamin Brahmer were the others to receive votes. 

It is a good time to be a tight end. Positional usage is at an all-time high and nine were taken among the top-100 overall in the 2026 NFL Draft. The league utilized two-plus tight ends on 33.2% of offensive snaps last season, according to TruMedia; a full 3% higher than the previous high set in 2024 over the past 10 years.

Offensive line

LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton was the consensus top offensive lineman. Texas offensive tackle Trevor Goosby and Iowa center Kade Pieper were the only two other offensive linemen among the top five. Missouri lineman Cayden Green, Indiana offensive tackle Carter Smith and Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Lauck were also on both top-10 lists. 

Ohio State offensive guard Austin Siereveld, Michigan offensive tackle Andrew Sprague, Notre Dame offensive tackle Anthonie Knapp, Stanford offensive tackle Niki Prongos, SMU offensive tackle PJ Williams, South Carolina offensive tackle Jacarrius Peak, Texas Tech offensive tackle Howard Sampson and Kentucky offensive tackle Lance Heard each received a single vote. 

One underclassman to watch is Ohio State offensive guard Luke Montgomery. The Buckeyes allowed veteran Tegra Tshabola to walk via the transfer portal in order to create more playing time for Montgomery, who could have a Chase Bisontis-type ascension. 

There was ample conversation about the offensive line class being relatively weak in the months leading up to this past year's draft.  However, nine were taken on Thursday night; the first was Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano, who went No. 9 overall to the Browns.