The early QB1 of the 2027 NFL Draft is not Arch Manning. At least not according to the two analysts who study this for a living. On the latest Football Debate Club, PFSN draft experts Ian Cummings and Jacob Infante both landed on Oregon’s Dante Moore as the top quarterback in the class, and neither needed long to get there.
Why Dante Moore Leads the 2027 QB1 Race
“QB1 right now is Dante Moore. For me, that hasn’t really changed,” Cummings said. “I still think Dante Moore has the best balance of operational utility and physical talent … between him and Arch Manning.”
Moore has earned the projection. He returned to Eugene rather than enter the 2026 draft, where he was viewed as a likely top pick, and he is coming off a season in which he completed 71.8% of his passes for 3,565 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while leading the Ducks to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Cummings does not dismiss Manning. He grants the Texas quarterback the higher ceiling.
“I know Arch Manning is the trendy name. I do think he has higher upside,” Cummings said, pointing to a stronger arm, a bigger frame and more explosiveness as a creator. “Last year we prematurely anointed Manning as the QB1 … He’s not my QB1 yet, but I think he has the poise. He has the processing ability. He can get there with a little bit more experience.”
Infante reached the same conclusion through Moore’s mechanics.
“My QB1 is still Moore,” Infante said. “The arm talent is really good. The elasticity, the ability to throw off platform from different angles is really good. And I think he’s a little more polished as far as being that kind of game-managing type of distributor, a point guard for the offense.”
His reservation about Manning was specific. “Arch’s footwork, especially on some of those shorter intermediate throws, can be a little bit skittish at the apex of his drop-back,” Infante said. “Moore is a little bit more consistent with his mechanics. That’s a big floor for me.”
Manning returned to Texas for 2026 after throwing 26 touchdowns against seven interceptions and closing a 10-3 season with a win over Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. PFSN’s analysts are betting on the floor over the bloodline.
The 2027 Quarterback Class Runs Deeper Than the Top Two
The board does not thin out after Moore and Manning. Cummings and Infante slotted Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker at QB3, the North Texas transfer who led the FBS in passing yards and touchdowns in 2025 before following coach Eric Morris to Stillwater.
The two split at QB4, and the divide captured the whole debate. Infante took Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, the reigning Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year and a Heisman finalist who led the nation in completion percentage.
“He’s much more advanced as a redshirt freshman … the poise, the pocket, the ability to find the open man, go through full-field progressions,” Infante said. “You can win with those game-manager types.”
Cummings countered with Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, who set a single-season program passer-rating record as a redshirt freshman.
“CJ Carr in his first year as a full-time starter had an 85.9 PFSN QB Impact grade … more powerfully built, has a stronger arm,” Cummings said. “He has the operational framework, the accuracy that can help raise his floor as a starter.”
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The 85.9 figure is PFSN’s proprietary mark and cannot be verified externally, but the through-line is clear. Cummings keeps chasing the bigger arm. Infante keeps trusting the cleaner one.
That is the entire 2027 quarterback conversation in miniature. Manning carries the ceiling and the name. Moore carries the floor and, for now, the QB1 tag from the two people at PFSN paid to sort it out. The 2026 college season gets the final word.
