The hope at the beginning of every college football season is that good players will improve to become great and that previously undiscovered talent will make a draft class that much better.Â
The reality, however, is that some players regress. And with todays liberal transfer policy and the allure of NIL dollars, players are more hesitant than ever to enter the NFL before exhausting their college eligibility.Â
We wont know for certain which prospects will make up the Class of 2027 until mid-January. But if the 2027 NFL Draft were to take place tomorrow, here is how I would rank the top prospects.Â
NFL Player Comp: Tytus Howard, Browns
Size, power and positional versatility are awfully important boxes to check when evaluating offensive tackles, and Heard possesses all of those. At 6-foot-5, 325 pounds, with vines for arms and experience playing both right and left tackle following tours at Tennessee and LSU, Heard has the frame and game that scream NFL starter.Â
NFL Player Comp: KLavon Chaisson, Commanders
NFL teams are hesitant to invest early picks in specialists, but Wilson offers one of the best combinations of burst and bend of this years edge rushers. Teams will pry into his reasons for transferring from Georgia to Missouri to Miami over the past three seasons but his production at every stop is undeniable.Â
NFL Player Comp: Quay Walker, Raiders
Say what you will about Oregons collective struggles this season, their individual talent will be recognized by the NFL soon enough. A runaway freight train with true knockdown power, Jackson is blessed with an exceptional combination of size and speed and will be one of this years flashiest at the Scouting Combine. Â
NFL Player Comp: Jaylen Waddle, Broncos
The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Alexander is significantly slighter than most of the other receivers on my Big Board and has more drops in traffic than Id prefer. He is lightning fast, however, offering the breakaway element every NFL team is looking for in a deep threat.Â
NFL Player Comp: DeVonta Smith, Eagles
Durability and drops are concerns, but the flashes with Coleman-Williams are so bright that I had to include him on my list. Hes a proven playmaker, averaging 16.4 yards per catch with 18 touchdowns in two and a half seasons of SEC football. He also wont turn 20 until February.Â
NFL Player Comp: Bradley Chubb, Bills
It has become an annual tradition: I find a pass-rusher I seem to be higher on than my peers. A year ago, it was Gabe Jacas. In 2024, it was Nic Scourton. Uiagalelei has size, agility, power, instincts and eye-popping production. Oh, and hes just 21 years old. Whats not to like?Â
NFL Player Comp: Mack Wilson, Cardinals
Highlighted a few weeks ago as one of the fastest rising players in this class, Omosigho personifies an unbeaten UCLA squad meriting more attention. The Oklahoma transfer is a runaway freight train as a hitter, generating rare explosive power with a knack for producing fumbles.Â
NFL Player Comp: Alim McNeil, Lions
A double transfer who also spent time at Georgia and USC, Alexander lives up to his nickname, using an exciting blend of initial quickness and long-armed power to rag-doll would-be blockers. His tape features more lapses than Id prefer, but the talent is there. Â
NFL Player Comp: Kevin Zeitler, Packers
Smith has played a critical role on the blindside for the defending national champion Hoosiers, but he lacks ideal arm length and has the orneriness and physicality that project really well inside at guard. He is an iron man, having started the past 49 consecutive games (and all of them at
