Building the Board: A Look Ahead to the 2027 QB Draft Class

26:36Todd McShay:They've got two phenomenal backs, both first-round draft picks. Jeremiah Love is like out of this world, talent-wise, and what he did last year production-wise. and the best backup, one of the best backups in the history of college football. The first round draft pick, number 32 overall, Jadarian Price to the Seattle Seahawks. So the emphasis wasn't on CJ Carr in the passing game. You saw that reflected in some of the statistics. They're not mind-blowing statistics for a guy who we're talking about potentially as a first rounder this year. And I'm not going to shy away from it. I spent time around CJ Carr down at the Manning Passing Academy I mean, just watching the way he understood the coverages, the nuances, the way he throws the ball, the repetitive motion, the way he's added bulk to his frame, I just, I think, I believe he's about to take another massive step.

27:33Todd McShay:And I think Notre Dame's going to have to and will gladly start to open things up and rely on him. And they got two five-star recruits coming in. They got Faison still there. Great house. There's another big, big physical receiver who was injured a lot last year, but super talented, super productive, and had flashes when he was healthy. And now two guys come in who are five stars, former five stars of Ohio State who transferred to Notre Dame. So they're preparing themselves for what Carr needs to be and what I expect him to be. And I know you like CJ Carr a lot. He's not the biggest. He's not the fastest.

28:08Todd McShay:He's not, he's not, but my gosh, is he an assassin? Especially in like, like you said on our show, layered, layered throws outside the numbers, all like there's some areas to improve, but this guy has got the traits, the, the, the accuracy. And as the grandson of Lloyd Carr will be well documented, he's just been around ball his whole life. And I could see it firsthand. And I was, I was blown away by how different he was and the way he carries himself and his understanding of the game and the way he could teach the game compared to every other quarterback who also, they were all awesome, all great guys, but he was different, man.

28:46Todd McShay:Car was different. Thrown into the fire right away. I mean, you open up with Miami and Texas A &M in your first two starts. Awesome. I would have felt a little bit better if he had played better against Pittsburgh, and I think his grade would have been a little bit better. Pittsburgh late in the season, he didn't have a great game. Would have liked to have seen him perform better in that game because their schedule was soft. I mean, that's why they weren't in the playoff. Like, let's call it what it is. That said, I'm very excited about where he is in the process. I'm very excited about his tools.

29:14Not elite, but very good. And I do think he is outstanding in making those touch timing throws. And now he's going to have an opportunity to play, you know, where he's going to be the offense. It's going to run through him now. And I think he's ready for that. And I agree with you. I see him taking the next step.

29:32Todd McShay:Arch Manning is going to be a big discussion, right? How the hell do these two people who claim to know what they're doing and evaluating in a position that's arguably the most difficult to evaluate has had probably more documented high-profile failures than any other position. But still, these guys have been doing it for two and a half decades. They claim to know what they're doing. They've got their own show. how in the hell do they have Arch Manning as tied for fourth or fifth best grade in this class? And I want to reiterate what I said off the top. This thing could go a few ways. One of the ways could be he's the first overall pick.

30:18Todd McShay:He's that talented. He's 6 '4", he's 230 pounds. And my two biggest takeaways watching him were this, and I'm going to sum it up. And it's why I think he could be the first overall pick. And it's also why I think he could be back in Austin, Texas in 2027. And we could be talking about him in the 28 draft class. The first takeaway was even I, after watching every throw during the season, being caught up in like, how does this fit Texas? And where's the improvement and all those things. Even I, when you sit down in the summer, fresh off the beach, Minds relaxed Resetting Was watching him be like Holy shit He is so fast And he is such a dynamic weapon As a runner That acceleration he has And he was awesome in that game And he took it over And the confidence level he was playing with Several not all games In the second half of the season And especially in that bowl game And the way he was like picking up the pups and the litter, if you will, and like, let's go, carrying his offense.

31:32Todd McShay:There were moments where you're like, that's Arch, right? Yep. Still hard to unsee, though, the Ohio State game and some subsequent games, okay? And so, well, you love the progress, you love the traits, you love the body type, you love the pedigree. What's interesting is I don't think the quote-unquote pedigree of being a Manning and with your uncles being like really good pocket, like elite pocket passers, certainly Peyton, Eli, like their understanding of the game. I don't, that's not what I would consider yet a strength of his. And I'm sure he'll get closer if not there. But I think his eyes weren't where they should be a lot.

32:21Todd McShay:I think he was swimming in it. I think part of it was media and surroundings driven. I think it's too much no matter where you grew up with, who your grandfather is, who your uncles are, who your dad and mom are. I think any human being on the face of the planet, it was just around 20 years old, who's in this boiling pot, if you will, melting pot. Yeah. Of Austin, Texas and the emphasis and then college football where he's not even a full-time starter yet. Right. And he's the number one overall pick. He's the Heisman favorite. These are odds. These aren't just like hype. These are like, we're talking about legitimate fan duel.

33:08Todd McShay:These are odds. And that Texas is, this is the year they win the national championship, right? I think it was a lot for him. And then he met Matt and Patricia and a bunch of first-rounders in the defense. Arvel Reese, Caleb Downs, Sonny Stiles. And it was a shock to the system. The noise got loud. So if the first takeaway, real quickly, if the first takeaway was, my gosh, he is so much more dynamic than I even kind of like processed last year. My second takeaway was, if I'm being honest, he's further away as a passer currently, than even maybe I recognized or wanted to admit because I saw such progress from the beginning of the year to the end of the year.

33:54Todd McShay:But even in the end of the year when he was playing really well, his ball placement, his consistency, his confidence in throws were not there. So I need to see as an evaluator, and everyone in the NFL needs to see that we're taking a significant next step as a passer this year. I agree. I couldn't agree more with everything you just said. I just want to maybe put a point on the noise outside and maybe the impact of all of that. And I can't even imagine trying to deal with it. I think if you don't handle it well, it's probably because of two reasons. One, you kind of, you know, what people would say is wilt under the pressure or you can't handle the spotlight.

34:32But I think, and I think this is the case with Arch, I think the other situation is you're trying too hard. I think it was a lot of, I want to live up to this. And I honestly don't think, and people can call me, whatever. They're going to tell me I'm sucking up to whatever. I don't care. I also don't think it was about living up to what his family expectations were or what expectations were outside the building. I really feel like he wanted to live up to what his teammates expected of him.

34:58Todd McShay:He wanted to give that to everyone around him that he cares deeply about. Right. He wanted to be that guy for them. Not that family's important. It wasn't about the legacy. It was about his team. And I really believe that, which I think is encouraging going forward. Yeah, so that's where we are in Arch. And you're going to look at these rankings and say, oh, they don't believe, you know, they're anti. Listen, man, I'm buds with Cooper, his dad. I just spent time with he and Archie and Eli and Peyton. Like, I believe in them as a family in terms of what they're doing, how they're supporting. I believe in Arch.

35:39Todd McShay:I also was walking around and witnessing all like everyone some people love Chambliss and some but I love Julian saying it but like Arch walks out of that building onto a field or is walking from one field to the next field it's like with the Beatles man yeah and so there's a lot to there's a lot to handle but you know what iron sharpens iron and this is only going to make him better because he proved that even in the face of it, when everyone was quitting ARC, he was like, he's stuck in there. He grinded. That's parenting. That's family. That's growing up in it. That's having the tools. And some people will say, well, of course he's like a Nepo baby.

36:28Todd McShay:He gets everything. He's got the best. He's got Texas, got all the money in the world. No, I mean like as a dad, like the foundation pieces, you know? So I'm excited to see what happens now in year two with Sark. Oh, by the way, Cam Coleman comes in. Cannot be understated how good that kid is. Yes. He is a dude. It was him and Ryan Williams and Jeremiah Smith were like 1A, 1B, 1C in that unbelievable recruiting class. And Cam Coleman has shown brilliance. But Cam Coleman's been dealing with some quarterbacks that just don't belong at the table. Let's be honest. and so now arch has got that and he's and he's got another one in um in wingo or wingo right yeah in wingo wingo is super talented also in that recruiting class but a lot of drops a lot of inconsistency so they need a one so they can get wingo some of the screens the quick slant some of that stuff to go let him get the ball and go and take it after so that's going to be fun to watch this offense.

37:30Todd McShay:Agree. And I think before, before we transition into like where these guys could go, the NFL teams that are, that are looking and the list is really intriguing. I'm excited to get there. I do want to mention Mensa and I mentioned it briefly off the top. That cat can flat out dissect you. He's an absolute assassin. And I think because he played at Duke and they're not in many national games and the ACC took a clear backseat and has for a little while to the SEC and the Big Ten, or you could say Big Ten SEC. I'm not here for that fight today. I think people underestimate who he is, but Miami had their choice probably with the money they were throwing around.

38:19Todd McShay:We heard Ty Simpson offered maybe up to$6 million to go to Miami. Miami doesn't get guys that aren't ready to come in and do it as we saw with Cam Ward and Carson Beck. This guy is in Miami for a reason. And Duke was, as you said on our show yesterday, Duke sued the situation, if you will, to try to get Mensa back because of what we saw on tape. I think he's got a chance to be a really good starter. We and I both have late first round grades on him right now. And I think he's going to be just like Beck and Ward before him. I think he's going to ascend this year. I agree. Don't hate me. Quick question before you move on.

38:58Yeah. Brendan Soresby, Cincinnati slash Texas Tech quarterback, not in the top five. Is he in your top five if we are strictly going off of skill set and tape?

39:11Todd McShay:And if he was playing this fall. And if he's playing this fall, let's do that. We'll add that to the list. I don't know who I'm bumping out. I know. But the answer is probably yes. I think I'd have him tied you would feel comfortable with him having a first round grade is that a better way of saying it? I would have him at 90 and I would probably maybe with Mensa so maybe it wouldn't be top 5 now that I've done but you gotta remember we had to do Soresby first because of all the situation going on and I see a first round he's a first round talent if, I don't want to say he's he's in the neighborhood talent wise of sellers and Levitt for me.

39:56Todd McShay:And Arch. I'm not saying he's... And Arch. They're in that... Those four are in that neighborhood of a mobility level, an arm talent level that separates them skill-wise from even Dante Moore and CJ Carr and Mensa, okay? Yes. Of those four, he is the least refined. He is the most raw. But he is thick. He is strong. He is big. He's a powerful runner. He's a fast runner. He is a very instinctive runner. He creates, he extends, and there's more Mahomes in his game, if I'm being honest, than any of these other cats. but there's also some like Lamar here there's some Josh Allen there but I'm just saying like the arm angles the magician type how the hell did he do that tape but he's also the least refined as a pastor he's got the most growth that needs to happen and the really truly unfortunate part that he got himself into I'm not making any apologies and I've said this I'm thrilled that he finally stopped the fight and I'm hopeful between now and January, it's about ownership, maturing, taking a deep look into himself, making sure he has the right things in place with the gambling addiction and letting the league know most secondly to actually doing the work on himself that I do own what I did.

41:32Todd McShay:I am imperfect. I'm still capable of being a leader of men. I'm still capable of being trustworthy and hear the reasons why. But first and foremost, I am sorry. I made the action. It was my actions that put me in this situation. And I'm ready to be a man at the grown man's table. And I wasn't a few months ago when my lawyers were fighting every different way to get out of the problems I created. So he created these problems. And now he's got to deal with it. and he's going to wind up losing millions of dollars on that first contract. And most importantly, honestly, from a development standpoint, he's missing out on a four-month run of development playing games.

42:16Todd McShay:And we've seen from the Bo Nicks to the Jaden Daniels to most of the top quarterbacks. Look at Fernando in that third year. He needed more game experience. He's not going to get it. And that's as scary to me as anything else is that what yeah he's preparing he's working with the quarterback coach he's getting right he's getting right off the field and on the field we'll see him at the senior bowl but not getting that opportunity is why i give a grade in the 80s rather than potentially a 90 and up there with the top five got it wanted to get a feel for that because i think people are going to want to want to understand why he's where he's at in the rankings when they're updated no i i appreciate and I'm glad you called that out.

43:02Todd McShay:All right. I think it's a perfect time to transition. What's fascinating about this class in addition to the depth of talent is where some of these NFL teams are in their current quarterback situation, right? And I kind of clump it into tiers or maybe two different groupings of assuming things kind of play out the way that we think they're going to play out. That's the most likely scenario. there's a few teams that are going to be heavy, heavy quarterback market and have a chance maybe to be drafting early enough to just take one or, and, and or have multiple picks in the first round. Those teams include the jets, the Browns, the Cardinals.

43:51Todd McShay:I would put Pittsburgh in this middle ground of, they're probably going to win a bunch of games. decent chance they make the playoffs, but they're every bit as QB needy for the future as those other teams. Yep. Right. You got Aaron Rogers. What like the Soresby situation, had he gotten a supplemental draft from the NFL, that opportunity, I thought Pittsburgh was kind of a perfect place. Right. You know, bring him in. He's around Aaron Rogers. Aaron's not going to be back for 2027. Maybe he'll be at least kind and teach a couple things, but who cares if he is or he isn't. Soresby can sit back and learn from this guy as he's suspended for part, if not all, the season, all that.

44:37Todd McShay:But it didn't play out that way. But Pittsburgh's a team that may be, once again, picking in the 20s, but this time it's not Kenny Pickett. This time it could be C.J. Carr. It could be Sam Levitt. It could be Julian Sayan, if he makes that. It could be Soresby. It could be Darian Mensah. That part's fascinating to me. So talk to me through those four teams that I mentioned. I would add one. Anything different or who would you add? I would add Minnesota. I really believe that Minnesota is, I mean, I don't, I'm not a believer that Kyler Murray's a long-term answer. J.J. McCarthy will be going, he's going into his third season now and won't be the starter.

45:23So, I mean, if we're being honest about where we stand right now, do we think J.J. McCarthy is going to pick up the fifth-year option on J.J. McCarthy? I'd be stunned. I'd be stunned. So I think Minnesota is another team in there. And then there's a bunch of, and I'm sure you're going to get to these teams.

45:41Todd McShay:But I also think, so let's go back to that first group. What's fascinating is it's probable that the Jets are going to have a top 5-7 pick, right? Right. Naturally. They also have those other two first-rounders. And we know they, like, first of all, Darren Mugey, the general manager, was actually at the Manning Passing Academy. Right. He's tall as a fucking string bean, by the way. I couldn't believe how tall. I had never met him in first. He's like 6 '4", man. Anyway, I saw one general manager there last year in 2025, and it was Les Snead, a team that took a quarterback in the first round. Right.

46:30Todd McShay:But he's close with the Manning family. He consistently goes there, but he was there and Ryan Poles was there because his son went. His son is a quarterback and was at the camp. This year, Poles was back, son there. Met Ryan Poles' dad, grandfather. He's a trip, man. It was awesome to catch up with him. Anyway. Here we go. But Muji was there. Detroit had a representative there in Chris Greer. Keep an eye on the Lions, man. But anyway, so you get the Jets and the Browns with multiple picks. The Browns have two. The Jets have three, right? There you would think some way, some shape are going to wind up probably picking the top five, whether it's just earn the pick or can move up with multiple picks.

47:21Todd McShay:Arizona only has one pick, but I like Carson Beck. I just don't. I'm not settling with this draft class coming up. And Pittsburgh and Minnesota are two teams that, quite frankly, it's very capable of getting in the playoffs. And if they don't, maybe they miss it by a game, and they're still picking in that, like, 18 to whatever, 20, early 20 range. Okay? Right. Then there are these other teams that I think are interesting. And these are the teams that could benefit from the depth of quarterbacks. But also, I think there might be a team or two that wind up taking a quarterback because when are we going to get an opportunity like this?

48:02Todd McShay:Yeah. Atlanta is fascinating. One of my teams on that list too. Right? Atlanta is fascinating because you just drafted Penix the same year McCarthy was drafted. This is a huge year. Do we have a guy or not? And can he stay healthy and all that? It's the third year for those quarterbacks, just to be clear. They were drafted in 24. This is the third season. So by the end of this year, you're going to decide whether you're going to tag them, you're going to extend them, or you're going to just let them go in their final year of that rookie contract. You have one more year, but this is going to go a long way towards telling you whether or not you're going to do it.

48:36Todd McShay:And Truettunga-Vailoa was brought in as well, right? Yep. One-year deal. Now there's some other teams that are big-name programs, if you will, organizations. that I just want to throw on the radar. My son Tate is a massive Baker Mayfield Buccaneers fan. Yep. And I'm having a hard time telling them that, like, there's some writing on this wall. As an undersized guy, he's taking a lot of hits. He's got to have a big year, I think, for them to commit long-term. And that's public knowledge, right? So they're an interesting team to keep an eye on. As they kind of revamped and got younger in their entire...

49:13Todd McShay:Their whole draft was defense, right? Right. Then you get the Eagles. Is this just another offseason of a lot of noise and A.J. Brown's out and Jalen Hurts is disgruntled, but he's going to be fine. They're that family. Marissa's Italian, so I'm always like, you guys just yell too much. There's a lot of yelling going on, but they couldn't love each other more. So maybe the Eagles are just that organization. They're always going to be fighting, and there's going to be chaos, but they thrive on it and then it's a beautiful, wonderful thing. But it feels like it's gotten a little bit... Or maybe Howie just Howie's and takes advantage of the depth of the class and says, there's no way I'm not taking one here.

49:56Right.

49:57Todd McShay:So they're one of those teams to keep an eye on. And in that division, Dallas, Dak Prescott, age, money, opportunity to draft someone younger, don't have to play, However that plays out, I'm told to keep an eye out on Dallas. Could, by the way. The way they've rebuilt that defense in the last eight months, they legitimately could be playing for a Super Bowl this year. And I am the anti, like, get off first take and get up every fucking day. Like, it drives me crazy. Can you imagine if they're actually good? What will happen? It's going to be a frenzy. It will be nauseating. Nauseating. But keep an eye on Dallas.

50:37Todd McShay:Anyone I missed? Yes. Yes. Colts. Daniel Jones, he doesn't have a good year. How about Texans? Is it CJ? Yes. How about, I think the Lions are sneaky. They're a little more fringe. Yes. But wouldn't surprise me. And then Carolina. I should have mentioned, he's brought, he's, I forget the exact title, but he's now brought, Brad Holmes is the general manager. We know Chris Spielman's there and they've got an unbelievable score. John Dorsey's there now, too. Oh, I didn't know that. They've put together this super front office. Seal Team 6, thank you. But I think that's intriguing, the Detroit situation.

51:28Todd McShay:Yeah, Carolina. That's a lot of teams, man. Carolina. And who's there? There's some snakes in the grass, man, that I think, like I said with Howie, I think there's some snakes in the grass. Carolina's real. Carolina is real. And Dan Morgan saying all the right things. I was really encouraged by the progress I saw from Bryce Young. And even the playoff loss, I was like, I'm starting to see it, right? But undersized, take some beatings, roller coaster. This is a proven... A lot of... I mean, from Carr to Young... Not Carr, I'm doing it again. stroud to young to baker weirdly enough to um to the minnesota situation to pennix to uh there's a lot of guys that like this is a there's a lot of individuals with certain teams where this is like oh we're great sign them up 50 40 50 what is 60 million whatever it is or we're out breakup marriage marriage is over like right it's kind of wild that's a lot of teams we're mentioning atlanta minnesota tampa bay philly i'm not gonna throw dallas in there uh detroit i'm not gonna throw them in there yeah they're french i think dallas and detroit are fringe yeah houston carolina that's a lot of organizations it is and it and it couldn't be a better year for all of that kind of potential chaos with the quarterbacks in the NFL than the potential for this being one of, if not the best quarterback classes the draft has ever seen.

53:14Todd McShay:Right? Yeah, one other team. And I can't see them doing it. But I never saw Atlanta drafting Penix in the top 10 after signing Kirk Cousins to that deal. There's going to be one. Miami. Oh, yeah. I wrote them down. I should have mentioned. Yeah, Miami's another one to keep an eye on. I mean, do they fall in love with one of these guys and Malik maybe doesn't, Malik Willis doesn't have the year that they're hoping he has. And they paid him, it's a contract that it's a lot of money, but it won't, they can, my understanding is they can maneuver. There's options. Yes. I also will never forget looking at their 30 visits pre-draft and the quarterbacks that they were bringing in just in case an opportunity.

54:00Todd McShay:I'm talking third round forward. But when you sign a guy, a big name guy, and you're clearly retooled, no organization shredded more before starting to build. It's from scratch. I've never seen anything. John Eric Sullivan, in a weird way, the new general manager, has a dream opportunity as a pure evaluator. There's nothing better. There's no pressure to win right now. that old roster's stripped down it is yours to build however you want to build it and had an awesome draft they did so so but to bring in all those quarterbacks and to be that interested it signaled to me yeah they obviously are they're counting on Malik to be awesome and to take the next steps and and what he learned from LaFleur and but we're we're not banking our entire organization and my career as a first time general manager on that.

55:00Todd McShay:It's definitely him. No questions asked. So agree, which is smart business. Yeah. All right. This has been fun. We appreciate the NFL or the ringer NFL show. I should say we appreciate the NFL to give us a hell of a life, you know, good business. We appreciate everyone, but we appreciate the ringer NFL show for giving us the, uh, the opportunity to spread our wings a little bit here in the ringer, maybe get to a little bit different audience. If you like what you heard today, the McShay show, it's on Netflix. It's on Spotify. It's on Apple, wherever else you get your podcasts. We'd love to have you part of our family, if you will.

55:37Todd McShay:And if you thought we sucked, then you probably aren't even listening to this because you probably turned the thing off. It was just an off day. If we sucked, it was an off day. We're usually much better. It was definitely an off day. It definitely was. Mench, as always, brother, five stars. Thanks, man. Ringer NFL show is produced by Chris Sutton. Video editor is Stefano Sanchez and production supervision by Connor Nevins and Arjuna Ramgapal.

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