2027 NFL Draft: CBS Sports shakes up first round with big surprise in top ten

Week 9 of college football and Week 8 of the NFL are both here, and the 2027 NFL Draft is beginning to take shape. With each week, the draft order becomes more clear. And the prospects that will hear their names called try to solidify their positioning. As a new week inches closer, CBS Sports has released a new mock. Offense narrowly edges out the defense in this mock, with 17 offensive players selected in the first round compared to 15 on defense. Five of those offensive selections are quarterbacks, including three in the top ten. $19.99 gets you a FULL year of On3 | Rivals national coverage Elsewhere in the top ten, there’s a bit of a surprise. A tight end is selected with the No. 9 overall pick, going higher than previous projections through this cycle to this point. The NFL trade deadline is coming soon, so that could impact the picks teams ultimately have once April arrives. For now, though, let’s take a look at this mock and see where everyone is slated to go. At the end, there are projections for the first pick of the three teams that don’t have a first rounder in this draft. Watch on Fubo (Try for Free) 1. Los Angeles Chargers: Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith While Smith will have to go through the rest of this season without his quarterback, Julian Sayin, he still feels like the comfortable pick at No. 1 right now. The Ohio State star is an elite athlete and the clear top receiver in this class. On the season, he has 52 receptions for 984 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has 215 receptions, 3,542 yards and 41 total touchdowns in his three-year career. He’d provide an instant, much needed boost to the Chargers’ receiving room. 2. Tennessee Titans: Notre Dame CB Leonard Moore Moore was an All-American in 2025, his sophomore season at Notre Dame. He had five interceptions and seven pass breakups that season. This year, he has 13 tackles and five pass breakups in six games. In his three-year career, Moore has totaled 92 tackles, two tackles for loss, seven interceptions, 23 pass breakups and three forced fumbles. He’s the top corner in the 2027 NFL Draft, and he’s the top defensive player off the board here. 3. Miami Dolphins: Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker After spending the first two years of his career at North Texas, Mestemaker transferred to Oklahoma State before the 2026 season. The move is paying off, as he has completed 65.7% of his passes for 2,326 yards with 20 touchdowns and six interceptions. Mestemaker was great this past weekend against Colorado, throwing for 386 with four touchdowns. He’s a career 67.6% passer with 7,167 yards, 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in 26 games. Miami opts to take him here as the top quarterback in the mock. 4. Washington Commanders: Texas EDGE Colin Simmons Simmons is currently dealing with a high-ankle sprain, and he missed Texas’ game last week against Ole Miss. Still, he has the potential to be the top defensive player in the draft. The Commanders snag him in this mock as the second defensive player off the board. In six games this season, he has 25 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 10.5 sacks and two forced fumbles. In 35 career games across three seasons, Simmons has totaled 116 tackles, 45.5 tackles for loss, 31.5 sacks, eight forced fumbles, four pass breakups and an interception. 5. Houston Texans: South Carolina EDGE Dylan Stewart Despite his troubles with injury and a suspension earlier in the season, Stewart is believed to be a top five type of talent this year. In four games for the Gamecocks in 2026, he has eight tackles, three tackles for loss, two sacks and three forced fumbles. In 28 career games, Stewart has 64 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, 13 sacks and nine forced fumbles. Houston opts to pair him with Will Anderson here, and that would be scary for opposing offenses. 6. Philadelphia Eagles: Indiana WR Charlie Becker Even though Becker was held to three catches for 32 yards last week in an overtime win against Michigan, he’s still played himself into being the potential second receiver off the board this year. Through eight games, he has 42 receptions for 726 yards and eight touchdowns at Indiana. Last season, he had 34 receptions for 679 yards and four touchdowns. He’d join an Eagles offense that could use another playmaker. 7. New York Jets (via IND): Notre Dame QB CJ Carr Carr was held without a touchdown in Notre Dame’s last game, a loss to BYU two weeks back. Still, he’s had himself a season. On the year, he has completed 66.8% of his passes for 1,639 yards, 16 touchdowns and just one interception and he also has three rushing scores. Carr is firmly in the top tier of quarterbacks in the 2027 NFL Draft at this point. He threw for 2,741 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions in 2025, his first year as Notre Dame’s starter. He’d give the Jets their QB of the future. 8. Arizona Cardinals: Miami QB Darian Mensah Wherever Mensah ends up in the NFL, it will be his fourth team in four years. He started at Tulane in 2024, then transferred to Tulane, and went to Miami before this season. Right now, he might win the Heisman. On the year, he is completing 81.4% of his passes for 2,151 yards, 22 touchdowns and one interception with two rushing scores. Mensah is a career 69.5% passer with 8,847 yards, 82 total touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He’d have a shot to start in Arizona right out of the gates. 9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LSU TE Trey’Dez Green The biggest surprise of this mock 2027 NFL Draft, Green is taken with the 9th pick by the Buccaneers. Green is viewed as the top tight end in the class and a potential first rounder, but here he becomes the second tight end in the last five drafts to be taken in the top ten. He’s played in just four games this season, bringing in 19 catches for 272 yards and two touchdowns. In his three-year career at LSU, Green has 65 receptions for 806 yards and 13 touchdowns. 10. New York Jets: Clemson CB Ashton Hampton With the Jets’ second pick in the draft, they pivot to defense and take the likely second corner off the board in Hampton. He’d give an immediate jolt to a defense that has just one interception since the start of the 2025 season. Hamtpon has played in 34 games in three seasons at Clemson, and he has 97 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, four interceptions and 23 pass breakups. This year alone, he has nine pass breakups. 2027 NFL mock draft: Picks 11-32 11. New Orleans Saints: Georgia LB Chris Cole12. New York Jets (via DAL): Ole Miss DL Will Echoles13. Las Vegas Raiders: Texas WR Cam Coleman14. Cleveland Browns (via LAR): Alabama EDGE Yhonzae Pierre15. Atlanta Falcons: LSU OT Jordan Seaton16. Baltimore Ravens: Texas OT Trevor Goosby17. Seattle Seahawks: Georgia CB Ellis Robinson IV18. New England Patriots: Florida RB Jadan Baugh19. Carolina Panthers: Minnesota IOL Greg Johnson20. Dallas Cowboys (via GB): Tennessee DL Xavier Gilliam21. New York Giants: Oklahoma DL David Stone22. Jacksonville Jaguars: Cal S Kingston Lopa23. Cincinnati Bengals: Kentucky OT Lance Heard24. Pittsburgh Steelers: Mississippi State CB Kelley Jones25. Detroit Lions: Notre Dame EDGE Boubacar Traore26. Cleveland Browns: Oregon QB Dante Moore27. Denver Broncos: Oregon TE Jamari Johnson28. Chicago Bears: Oregon DL A’Mauri Washington29. Buffalo Bills: Notre Dame S Brauntae Johnson30. San Francisco 49ers: Alabama WR Ryan Coleman-Williams31. Kansas City Chiefs: Indiana WR Nick Marsh32. Minnesota Vikings: Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss First selection for teams without a first-round pick 42. Indianapolis Colts: Arizona State WR Reed Harris49. Green Bay Packers: Notre Dame IOL Anthonie Knapp62. Los Angeles Rams: Texas A&M WR Mario Craver