Arch Manning Seen as 2nd-Best QB in 2027 Draft Class in Poll of NFL Scouts, Who is No. 1?

Arch Manning is not heading into his second season as Texas' starter as the consensus top quarterback in the 2027 draft, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Oregon's Dante Moore was voted as the projected top quarterback in the class in a recent poll of 10 NFL scouts, according to Thamel.

Ohio State's Julian Sayin and Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby tied for third place in the poll, Thamel reported.

Thamel noted that multiple scouts said they haven't yet been closely watching 2027 quarterbacks ahead of the 2026 draft, which is set to kick off Thursday night in Pittsburgh at 8 p.m. ET.

According to Thamel, NFL scouts and front office members "indicate that at this early juncture there's at least 15 quarterbacks who could conceivably be considered in the first-round conversation."

Those signal callers include South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers, Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker, LSU's Sam Leabitt, Notre Dame's CJ Carr, Miami's Darian Mensah, Penn State's Rocco Becht, Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss, Indiana's Josh Hoover, UCLA's Nico Iamaleava, USC's Jayden Maiava and Oklahoma's John Mateer, according to Thamel.

Moore was widely regarded as the second highest-ranked quarterback in the 2026 draft to Indiana's Fernando Mendoza before he announced in January he would be returning to Oregon for another season.

After redshirting his first season with the Ducks behind Cleveland Browns quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Moore took on the starting job in Oregon in 2025.

Moore completed 71.8 percent of his passes for 3,565 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, adding 73 carries for 156 yards and two touchdowns in 15 games.

He has made just 20 college starts, and Thamel has noted that NFL front offices prefer a baseline of 25 starts. He could hope more experience and similar playoff success will help boost his draft stock for 2027.

Manning similarly began his Texas career by redshirting as a backup for Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers.

He also made his debut as a full-time starter in 2025 and led the Longhorns to a Citrus Bowl win but not a playoff appearance during an inconsistent first season as starter.

Manning completed 61.4 percent of his passes for 3,163 passing yards with 26 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while adding 399 yards and 10 touchdowns in 13 games.

His ability to build on his athletic talents while gaining more consistency in 2026 could ultimately shape where the nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning lands on draft boards should he decide to go pro in 2027.