Mel Kiper Jr. Reveals New Top Prospects for 2027 NFL Draft amid Jeremiah Smith Heisman Hype

Having solidified his status as the Heisman frontrunner, Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith is also regarded as the best player in the 2027 NFL draft class by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr.

In the latest episode of First Draft (starts at 3:50 mark), Kiper revealed his top five players in the 2027 draft as things currently stand with Smith at No. 1 overall.

Player	School
1. Jeremiah Smith, WR	Ohio State
2. Colin Simmons, DE	Texas
3. Leonard Moore, CB	Notre Dame
4. Drew Mestemaker, QB	Oklahoma State
5. Darian Mensah, QB	Miami

Other players ranked by Kiper include Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss (No. 6) and Florida running back Jadan Baugh (No. 10). He also Notre Dame wide receiver Jordan Faison and Clemson cornerback Ashton Hampton.

Smith entered the season generally regarded as the best player in the country. He has only improved his stock with at least 150 receiving yards in four of Ohio State's first five games.

The worst performance for Smith so far was an 85-yard outing against Kent State in a 59-3 win for the Buckeyes. He has had back-to-back games with more than 200 yards since then.

Based on the current standings, the Houston Texans would have the top pick in the 2027 draft. Given the talent at quarterback, their most-likely path would be to trade down with a team looking for a signal-caller.

However, the Texans putting Smith in an offense with C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins plus the defensive talent they already have in place would be an appealing option.

If Smith were to be the No. 1 pick, he would join Keyshawn Johnson in 1996 and Irving Fryar in 1984 as the only wide receivers to be taken with the top overall selection in the common draft era (since 1967).

Comparing Kiper's current ranking to his preseason list from Aug. 17, the two biggest changes are Dante Moore and Arch Manning no longer being the top quarterbacks.

Kiper noted he would "maybe" have both Manning and Moore of them near the bottom of a top-25 ranking right now.

Those two have been replaced at the top of the quarterback group by Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker and Miami's Darian Mensah.

Mestemaker, who is in his first season at Oklahoma State after transferring from North Texas, has thrown for 1,271 yards and 11 touchdowns in four games. His highest-profile game was a 39-31 win over Moore and Oregon on Sept. 12.

Mensah is off to a historic start in terms of accuracy with an 84.2 completion percentage through five games. He has nearly as many incompletions (21) as touchdown passes (15) this season and has yet to throw an interception.