With the months breezing by and the NBA and NHL seasons coming to an end, that means we are getting closer to the NFL season.
Here at PFN, it’s never too early to start evaluating draft talent and projecting what teams will look to do to improve their roster in the 2027 NFL Draft. Using PFN’s NFL Mock Draft Simulator, let’s predict the draft order and what the first round will look like next year.
1) Arizona Cardinals
Dante Moore, QB, Oregon
Dante Moore came back to Oregon with something to prove, and the Ducks look primed to improve on what turned out to be a disappointing finish to the 2025-26 season. Moore is a smooth operator off-platform and out of structure, with nimble mobility and impressive arm elasticity. As an operator, he showcased notable growth in 2025. He’s a competent pre-snap processor who can discern coverage styles and depths, and post-snap, he’s shown he can bait safeties out of position with his eyes, as well as sift through two-on-one spacing and throw receivers open with proper placement.
He has flashed massive potential at times and shown why another year in college could be a valuable experience for him. I think he will put in the necessary work and win some more important games this season, which will only further solidify his position atop the 2027 NFL Draft.
2) Miami Dolphins
Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
It is rare that a player comes into college with as much hype as Jeremiah Smith. Ever since he was a blue-chip high school prospect, he has answered the bell time and time again. He has already won a national championship, and he has little to prove on the field. Through his first two collegiate seasons, Smith has totaled 163 catches for 2,558 yards and 27 touchdowns.
Smith is impressively fluid and sudden for his size, with a natural nuance and feel for spatial manipulation that exceeds his years. Smith isn’t as consistent as a RAC threat and there’s still room to reach a higher echelon as an intermediate stem artist on comebacks and curls, but he looks born to be a true WR1, offensive alpha, and blue-chip weapon in the NFL.
3) New York Jets
Arch Manning, QB, Texas
At 6’4″, 226 pounds, Arch Manning is an elite creative threat with high-level arm talent and platform freedom, and he flashes exciting operational comfort, with glimpses of impressive pocket maneuverability, navigation, pre-snap discernment, and coverage diagnosis.
Manning’s 2026 season was a massive step in the right direction, and the Round 1 buzz that was premature last summer is now truly warranted. To me, this looks like the New York Jets get their next great quarterback, along with some solid offensive weapons, to be a force sooner rather than later.
4) Minnesota Vikings (via proposed trade with CLE)
Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame
In the first of two trades, the Minnesota Vikings move up to pick No. 4 to land Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore. In a draft with very few true No. 1 cornerbacks and a multitude of teams needing to invest in the position, I expect the Vikings to trade up to get their guy. Moore projects as a scheme and alignment-diverse CB1 with All-Pro upside.
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At 6’2″, 197 pounds, Moore is long and lean, with a compelling mix of long-strider explosiveness, reactive quickness and twitch, and swivel fluidity. He has a natural mirror-motor and instant reaction in press, and perfectly blends the line between patient, disciplined, and physical.
Meanwhile, in zone coverage, he has excellent two-on-one route awareness, spatial reasoning, and is explosive on the click-and-close overtop breaks. At the catch point, Moore resembles a wide receiver with truly elite ball skills and catch-point control; he has 7 career INTs to date, along with a career forced incompletion percentage of almost 20%.
5) Las Vegas Raiders
Cam Coleman, WR, Texas
Cam Coleman was a five-star recruit out of high school and has a highlight reel oozing with potential. Coleman was impacted by poor quarterback play in his first two collegiate seasons at Auburn, but his film still had him in the first-round conversation, and now he has an incredible opportunity as Arch Manning’s WR1 at Texas.
At around 6’3″, 200 pounds, with near-33″ arms, Coleman has the build of an X-receiver, and the athletic profile of one, too. He’s a venerable long-strider in the vertical plane but is also an impressive short-area athlete with excellent quickness, twitch, deceleration capacity, and hip fluidity for his size.
If he can improve on his drop rate from a season ago, he will be not only a blue-chip prospect for the Longhorns, but a perfect complement to the high-upside pieces that the Las Vegas Raiders have in Fernando Mendoza, Ashton Jeanty, and Brock Bowers.
6) Atlanta Falcons
Jordan Seaton, OT, LSU
The Atlanta Falcons have a pair of injury-prone lefties under center, but I don’t think the story is fully written on Michael Penix Jr. quite yet. A wise investment for Penix and Bijan Robinson would be a premier offensive tackle to solidify the offensive line for the next decade. That’s where Jordan Seaton comes in.
Seaton is an explosive, twitched-up, and rangy athlete at his size, and doubles as a heavy-handed combatant with excellent elbow load and force efficiency on punches. In pass protection, Seaton has a stellar synergetic feel and patient, nuanced hands; he can latch and anchor rushers with well-timed circle punches after matching, or flash hands to bait extensions before gathering. And in the run game, Seaton is angle-sound and adaptable. He is a high-motor player with all the tools to be a franchise cornerstone.
7) Tennessee Titans
Colin Simmons, EDGE, Texas
While he isn’t related to their All-Pro DT Jeffery Simmons, he would be a perfect complement to him, providing elite explosiveness off the edge to counter the physicality Tennessee already has up front. While considered slightly undersized, that didn’t stop him from posting a PFN EDGE Impact Score of 86.9 (fourth-best in the nation) and earning First Team All-SEC and Second Team All-American honors.
He’s a banshee on the rush with an insatiable playmaking motor, and those central qualities are magnified by his hyper-elite first-step explosiveness, long-track acceleration, tight cornering ability, effervescent twitch, and lateral explosive range. Even at his size, tackles still need to respect his speed-to-power, which opens up opportunities for Simmons to manipulate and exploit timing and angle advantages. Simmons has the rush intelligence to bait tackles out of positioning with initial rush angles, stutter-steps, and feigns, and his propulsive explosion, bend, and power pose devastating threats once out of position.
8) Carolina Panthers
Tae Johnson, S, Notre Dame
Tae Johnson could provide the Carolina Panthers with a true leader on and off the field that they haven’t had since Luke Kuechly retired. Johnson offers range and versatility to a defense that has shown promise at times, but clearly needs an impact player.
Johnson allowed just 0.4 yards per coverage snap, a measly opposing QB rating of 51.7, missed just 6.5% of his tackles, and forced an incompletion on 17.6% of targets. The numbers are elite, and the film follows suit. At 6’2″, 200 pounds, Johnson is long, well-built, and athletic, with a tantalizing blend of short-area quickness, foot speed on recalibration, swivel fluidity, and explosive long-strider range.
9) New Orleans Saints
Dylan Stewart, EDGE, South Carolina
With Cameron Jordan entering his farewell-tour season, this is the perfect time to pass the baton to a blue-chip prospect at the position. While I don’t think the New Orleans Saints will be picking at No. 9 after the season, this would be a dream get for the Saints.
At a listed 6’5″, 245 pounds, with near-34″ arms, Stewart’s explosiveness off the line is more akin to teleportation. He’s exceedingly twitchy and light on his feet, with elite hip fluidity, ankle flexion, and torso reduction for his size, and his combination of explosion, length, and consistent lower-body load can yield overwhelming power. Stewart’s sheer physical potential is the core of his evaluation; he has a near-unmatched blend of explosiveness, lateral agility, quickness, bend, length, and relentless motor, and there are glimpses of proper pass-rush execution with angle manipulation, stunt efficiency, upper-lower synergy, and power production.
Overall, Stewart has room to keep expanding his counter arsenal and improve his hand precision, and he has room to add a bit more mass and supplement his play strength as well. If New Orleans kept Chase Young to go along with him, that would be an extremely dangerous front.
10) New York Giants
David Stone, DT, Oklahoma
The New York Giants have always valued having a dominant force in the middle, and they are really good at developing said players. Even though they traded Dexter Lawrence II, I bet even he would agree that the environment fostered his potential. David Stone is a perfect match for a Giants defense that can both collapse pockets and stop the run.
At 6’3″, 315 pounds, with near-elite proportional length, Stone has a lab-built combination of natural leverage, compact mass, and power capacity, all of which is magnified by his otherworldly first-step explosiveness off the line. With his explosiveness, size, power profile, and unhinged motor, he’s a double-team magnet and can draw attention from 0-tech to 3-tech and 4i. He’s a consistent pocket pusher on the attack with a devastating bull-rush, and his line-resetting power serves as an asset in run defense, where he can both puncture gaps and reverse displacement in its tracks.
11) Washington Commanders
Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana
It’s not often you see a guy who is 6’4″ winning state sprinting championships, but that is the kind of elite athleticism we are dealing with when we talk about Charlie Becker. Becker possesses impact-starter upside and can be a dynamic mover-Z with an unrelenting affinity for separation and catch-point conversion.
It feels like the world is sleeping on Jayden Daniels and this Washington Commanders offense, and if the offense added a player like Becker, that could be the missing piece to unlock the whole thing.
12) Pittsburgh Steelers (via proposed trade with NYJ)
Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State
After years of messing around with veterans and holding out to wait on Aaron Rodgers’ plans, the Pittsburgh Steelers finally find their franchise quarterback in Drew Mestemaker, the impressive transfer from North Texas, who I think could be the best pick in the draft if he lands in this range.
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In 14 games started, Mestemaker led the Mean Green to a record of 12-2, while passing for an FBS-leading 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 9 interceptions, at nearly 70% completion rate and nearly 10 yards per attempt, and he added 5 additional scores on the ground. Mestemaker seems like the prototypical new-age quarterback and would be a great get for the Steelers.
13) Cleveland Browns (via proposed trade with MIN)
Justin Scott, DT, Miami (FL)
After trading back, the Cleveland Browns grab a really disruptive player on defense, and while there is no replacing Myles Garrett, Scott would give them a powerful presence up front to make life easier for everyone around him and keep the physical identity they have built over the years.
Projecting as a scheme-diverse DT with vast alignment versatility, elite run defense utility, stunting and slanting value, and independent pass-rush upside, Scott has impact NFL starter potential immediately.
14) New York Jets (via proposed trade with PIT)
Austin Siereveld, OG, Ohio State
In a savvy move to gain assets to just move back a couple of picks, I have the New York Jets taking the same player I would’ve had them taking at No. 12 if they had stayed put: Austin Siereveld.
At 6’5″, 325 pounds, Siereveld has impressive mass, and while his proportional length is closer to average, he compensates with high-level compact power, rotational torque at contact, and overwhelming leg drive post-contact. He’s a born displacer in the run game with elite contact authority and a tough, gritty play style. And in pass protection, he’s relatively synergetic, acquires leverage well, naturally plays with controlled lean, and has shown he can erode opposing extensions with snatches and heavy-handed chops.
15) New York Jets
Ahmad Moten Sr., DT, Miami (FL)
With their second pick in a row, the Jets continue addressing the trenches with Ahmad Moten Sr. out of Miami. Moten adds size and explosiveness to the Jets’ front that always seems to churn out impactful and disruptive defensive linemen.
It was a wise decision for Moten to return to Miami for another season, as now he gets a chance to shine without Rueben Bain Jr. being the leader of the defensive line, but rather a two-headed, disruptive duo of Moten and Justin Scott getting all the buzz.
16) Chicago Bears
Trevor Goosby, OT, Texas
The Chicago Bears have made it very clear since the moment they drafted Caleb Williams that they were going to do everything they could to protect their investment, while also attempting to maximize his potential by putting the right supporting cast around him. Trevor Goosby fits the bill perfectly.
Goosby has a strong sense of patience, timing, and upper-lower sync as a pass protector, but can improve at adapting, replacing his hands, and incorporating more counter strategies when rushers change the picture mid-rep. To that end, his tendency to grab against apex rushers who attain superior leverage renders him penalty-prone at times. Nevertheless, Goosby has an impact-starter projection at a premium position, with two-phase security and left-right flex.
17) Cincinnati Bengals
Jamari Johnson, TE, Oregon
After bringing in Dexter Lawrence II this past offseason, the Cincinnati Bengals give their MVP-caliber quarterback Joe Burrow another dynamic weapon.
Oregon’s Jamari Johnson is the full package, in terms of blocking and receiving, and in an offense with players like Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, he should get opportunities in space to show off his impressive athleticism.
18) Jacksonville Jaguars
Kewan Lacy, RB, Ole Miss
In what seemed like a move that made sense for both sides, the Jacksonville Jaguars moved on from Travis Etienne Jr. this offseason and will run with a decently unproven backfield for the 2026-27 season.
After this season, I expect them to select the first running back off the board, Kewan Lacy. Lacy is explosive, dynamic, and can bring it in the passing game, too. I think Lacy has the potential to be an elite back in this league, and this is a great spot for him to thrive immediately.
19) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Ellis Robinson IV, CB, Georgia
Ellis Robinson IV fits the mold of the kind of defensive backs the Tampa Bay Buccaneers target. He is athletic, has ideal size and ball skills, and he has shown he can do it at the highest levels of Division I college football in the SEC.
At 6’0″, 180 pounds, Robinson is light and lean, but possesses decent proportional length to go along with exceptional explosiveness, long speed, and elite coverage mobility. Robinson possesses the snappy short-area fluidity and recalibration to realign his base on demand, as well as the hip sink, malleability on breaks, and reactive coil to recover leverage instantly in read-and-react situations.
20) Denver Broncos
Sammy Brown, LB, Clemson
Sammy Brown is the exact type of player that the Denver Broncos go after and get the most out of. He is a game-changer, combining speed and physicality to be impactful against both the pass and the run.
Denver continues to be stout on both sides of the ball, but with how they build defensive talent and control their environment, I think Brown could become a household name.
21) Houston Texans
Omarion Miller, WR, Arizona State
While the Houston Texans selected C.J. Stroud No. 2 overall in the not-too-distant past, I personally don’t think they have pulled the right strings in terms of setting him up for success. That isn’t for a lack of effort, but I think Omarion Miller would go a long way to stabilize the offense for him.
Miller would be the second high-upside wideout to come out of ASU in two years, offering similar traits in size and the ability to stretch defenses. I don’t think Miller is as polished as Jordyn Tyson at the time of entering the NFL, but he has all the traits to be successful.
22) Philadelphia Eagles
KJ Bolden, S, Georgia
KJ Bolden projects as a defensive leader and “glue guy” whose role and phase versatility, physicality, football IQ, and range yield impact starter upside. As a mover, he operates with controlled pacing that sometimes hides his top-end athleticism. But in quick-reaction and chase scenarios, his short-area twitch, swivel fluidity, hip sink, springy explosion, and long-strider speed shine.
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In support, he’s patient yet decisive, angle-disciplined, and a sure solo tackler despite his leaner frame. In coverage, he’s intelligent, incredibly natural in managing spacing and hip alignment in zone, smooth and effortless on his pedal, and quick to close gaps off his plant-and-drive once passers commit.
23) Detroit Lions
Matayo Uiagalelei, EDGE, Oregon
If you have seen my mock drafts over the last year, this is a pick that has made sense for an extremely long time. I respect that Matayo Uiagalelei went back to school to handle some unfinished business, but when that is done, he can be a force on a Dan Campbell-led Detroit Lions team.
24) Los Angeles Chargers
A’Mauri Washington, DT, Oregon
A’Mauri Washington would go a long way to enhance the physicality in the middle of the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive line, a trait that Jim Harbaugh covets in his defenses. Washington is a clogger; he takes manpower, strength, and skill to overcome, and in doing that, he leaves opportunities for his teammates. But that isn’t all he is good for. He has been an impactful interior defender for Oregon and has an extremely high floor to go along with Pro Bowl upside.
25) New England Patriots
Quincy Rhodes Jr., EDGE, Arkansas
Quincy Rhodes Jr. had the opportunity to enter the draft or transfer to Oklahoma or Kansas State, but ultimately decided to return to Arkansas for one more year, and that may be just what the doctor ordered for him to get into the first round. He is 6’6″ with elite length to keep tackles off of him, which results in an ability to generate a ton of pressure. He is a versatile player who would fit right in with the New England Patriots.
26) San Francisco 49ers
Kenyatta Jackson, EDGE, Ohio State
With both speed and power, Kenyatta Jackson stepped into a big role right away for the Buckeyes, with 8 sacks and 45 pressures in his first year as a starter.
With his size, strength, and performance under the brightest lights, he seems like a perfect fit with the San Francisco 49ers.
27) Dallas Cowboys
Zabien Brown, CB, Alabama
With a combination of speed and a nose for the big play, Zabien Brown has all of the tools to become a Pro Bowler at cornerback with the right coaching. He has the speed to keep up with just about any receiver, and he also adds value as a returner, so he seems like a really solid get this late in the first round. Brown is battle-tested in SEC play, and his play remained solid. I think this would be one of the best value picks of this draft.
28) Kansas City Chiefs
Mario Craver, WR, Texas A&M
With the constant uncertainty around Rashee Rice and no other proven option who can play consistently outside, Mario Craver is a great fit as Patrick Mahomes’ next big weapon. With respect to Xavier Worthy, I view him more as a slot guy who can also be moved around, but Craver’s presence would add value to everyone in the WR room.
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Craver boasts explosiveness and separation skills that I think fit perfectly in Kansas City, as the Chiefs know how to get the most out of their offensive weapons with top-notch creativity.
29) Baltimore Ravens
Kade Pieper, C, Iowa
It seems like the Baltimore Ravens are always looking to add another offensive lineman to a physical, run-heavy scheme that also has to adapt on the fly, with one of the league’s elite creators at the helm. Kade Pieper is a fundamentally sound force who could be a staple in this line for years.
30) Seattle Seahawks
Cayden Green, OG, Missouri
After a Super Bowl win, the Seattle Seahawks lost their top rusher and immediately replaced him in the first round with an extremely talented back. A year later, I expect them to solidify the offensive front to continue their perfect balance between a consistent run game and solid pass protection. Cayden Green is a perfect fit for this role, as an experienced and powerful guard who could be a force for years.
31) Buffalo Bills
Nick Marsh, WR, Indiana
With a combination of size and speed, Nick Marsh transferred to Indiana, and it shouldn’t be long before he is catching passes from an NFL quarterback. He fits the build that the Buffalo Bills like to draft, and he has an impressive catch radius. I am expecting a breakout season and for him to take what he learns from Curt Cignetti and cash in come draft time.
32) Cleveland Browns
Drake Lindsey, QB, Minnesota
Having already drafted defense earlier in this draft, I think the Browns swing for the fences and bring in Drake Lindsey to try and (finally) stabilize the quarterback position. For what Lindsey lacks in a true run game, he possesses all of the skills to be an elite pocket passer in the NFL for a long time.
Drafting him in the first round means they would have the fifth-year option to give him an extra year to pan out, and I think this one works out for the Dawg Pound.
