π Kiper's 2027 Big Board: Ranking the top 25 NFL draft prospects -- including seven QBs β SkimNews
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- Jeremiah Smith tops the Big Board as the clear-cut No. 1 with 48 catches for 916 yards and 11 touchdowns in six 2026 games, having posted just six drops on 281 career targets with 38 career touchdown catches and a 16.5-yards-per-catch average.
- Drew Mestemaker slots in at No. 2 β a former high school punter and walk-on at North Texas in 2024 who transferred to Oklahoma State and now ranks third in the FBS with 30 completions of 20-plus yards this season.
- The 2027 class features seven quarterbacks in Kiper's top 25, including Darian Mensah (No. 4, leading the nation at 84.2% completion and 92.5 QBR), CJ Carr (No. 8, just two sacks all season), Trinidad Chambliss (No. 6), and Austin Simmons (No. 10, a lefty Kiper calls the best thrower in college football).
- Colin Simmons checks in at No. 5 at edge rusher, leading the nation with 9.5 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, and a 23.0% pressure rate after posting 5.5 sacks in a single September game against Tennessee.
- Dylan Stewart lands at No. 9 despite missing the opener with a back injury and serving a one-game suspension for punching an Alabama player, with Kiper noting his pass-rush traits still 'jump off the tape.'
- Kiper's November 7 Miami-at-Notre Dame clash will be a marquee draft showcase, pitting Mensah against Carr and cornerback Leonard Moore (No. 3) in a game Kiper says 'is going to say a lot' about Miami's draft stock.
- Round 1 of the 2027 NFL Draft is set for April 29 in Washington D.C., and Kiper emphasizes his list is a personal ranking, not a mock β players will rise and fall as the 2026 college season continues.
Why it matters: Kiper's debut Big Board places seven quarterbacks inside the top 25 β an unusually QB-heavy concentration he explicitly flags with the phrase 'a ton of QBs' β alongside elite non-QB prospects Jeremiah Smith (No. 1) and Colin Simmons (No. 5), giving NFL front offices an unusually deep QB tier to evaluate ahead of Round 1 on April 29 in Washington D.C.
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