Five Quarterbacks Lead Early Odds for No. 1 Pick in 2027 NFL Draft

The 2026 NFL Draft was a wide receiver draft.

Although Fernando Mendoza went first overall to the Las Vegas Raiders and Ty Simpson is the biggest talking point exiting the draft after going No. 13 to the Los Angeles Rams, it was the receivers who blanketed the three-day event.

But in 2027, it’s all about the quarterbacks, and odds are already pointing to several big names being at the top of the board if they keep their form throughout the 2026 college football season.

More news: Arch Manning Leads Way-Too-Early Top 5 for 2027 NFL Draft

More news: Raiders 2026 NFL Draft Grades: Las Vegas Go All-In on Fernando Mendoza

Per Kalshi, the prediction website, five quarterbacks lead the early odds to get taken No. 1 overall in next year’s draft.

At the front of everyone is the heir apparent to the Manning family football dynasty, Arch Manning of the Texas Longhorns, who currently sits with 27% odds to go first.

Manning decided to stay another year in Texas to compete for a national title with the Longhorns, and if he plays as well as he did against Michigan to end the past campaign, he will be the top pick in 2027.

Second, with 11%, is the QB who would have most likely gone second overall this year if he declared, Oregon’s Dante Moore.

Right alongside Moore, also with 11%, is Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, who threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns to only six interceptions in his first year as a starter.

In the fourth spot is Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, who might have won the Heisman Award if he could have defeated Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza in the Big 10 Championship. He will be returning to school with the non-QB with the highest odds to go first overall: Jeremiah Smith, the wide receiver prodigy who would have been a top 10 pick if he had declared as a teenager.

Finally, the dark horse of the bunch, at 9%, is Drew Mestemaker, the kicker-turned-QB with a wrist that can flick footballs over mountains. The former North Texas signal-caller transferred to Oklahoma State in the offseason, and if his storybook journey continues, Mestemaker could rise up the rankings fast with a reloaded Cowboys roster.

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This story was originally published April 27, 2026 at 7:19 PM.