Lance's 2027 Draft Prospect Boards: Post-Week 4

This is different from the weekly rankings I put out. This is where I run a bunch of players at every position through what I use to create my draft boards. Granted, all of it is without the athletic scores cause that won't come until after the Combine. AND there's a good chance a fair number of the players I have listed won't enter the draft, or won't receive a Combine invite. But I'll adjust for those things later. Right now, this is what my top ten would look like for each position heading into next year's draft. I also make comments comparing my current boards to what I had in the preseason. I've included the links for those at the bottom.

Note: Major shifting. Chambliss has fallen outside the top ten, which isn't entirely fair to him, he's had some tough matchups and the stats haven't been easy to come by (efficiency and box score). I think he'll climb his way back up. Brungard is probably the biggest surprise name on the list. He's well on his way to his best season yet, though I'd almost prefer to see him jump up in competition and prove his size is not a concern. Speaking of size concerns, that is what will hover around Fifita, as well as a couple of guys not on the list, namely Rocco Becht, Kevin Jennings and Demond Williams Jr. Several of the guys on this list helped themselves out either by choosing the right transfer destination, or electing to return to school, but I feel like Weigman is currently the king of that group. Highly touted out of high school, did not pan out with Texas A&M, had a great first season with Houston last year and elected to return to school. He's on pace to improve in every major statistical passing category, and even more importantly, in all of the efficiency categories. As of right now, he's my sleeper for a surprise first round QB in next year's draft.

Note: Wayshawn Parker has been largely overlooked so far this year because of what Baugh has been doing. I can say, if this was how my board were to finish and I were a GM, I would ignore the numbers and take Baugh as the RB1. He's just having too great of a season against very very good competition. But don't sleep on Parker. Hardy has yet to play this year because of the gunshot injury, but he is supposed to be back at some point, and his 2025 season was so good it can keep him in the top 3 for now. Isaac Brown was my preseason RB1. He's not even in the top ten now. Look at his numbers, he is not having a good season. Louisville should probably consider increasing Keyjuan Brown's touches. If he were to receive the same number of touches that Parker has at Utah and was able to keep up the efficiency, he'd likely be top 3, maybe even #1. Wayne Knight has picked right up where he left off with James Madison last year, only this time he's doing it against better competition. He's a big reason UCLA is undefeated, and I wouldn't be surprised if he keeps climbing.

Note: Jeremiah Smith at #1 is not hyperbole, it's not me trying to mirror the media, and in reality it shouldn't surprise anyone, even you diehard Michigan fans. There are several guys sprinting up the board from seemingly no where, Reed Harris and Carlos Hernandez chief among them. Griffin Wilde and JV Gibson were two others that I had not been looking at prior to these first four weeks. Whereas, Anthony Evans and Yamir Knight weren't on my board previously, but they were on my radar. Evans surprises me not at all. He had taken steps in the right direction last year, and is now Heisman hopeful Kemario Taylor's favorite target. Becker and Young slid down my board, but they both still scored exceptionally high for both my WR and Slot boards, so not really a negative thing that they fell to 9 and 10. There were several other guys that barely missed making my top ten: Tre Richardson, Deuce Alexandre, Collin Dixon, Cayden Lee, KJ Duff, and Ryan Coleman-Williams. If all of the guys I'm tracking were to enter the draft next year it would be an insanely loaded Receiving class, and we've seen a lot of those recently.

Note: Almost a complete overhaul. The only players from my preseason top ten still on my list are Jamari Johnson (up from #3) and Trey'Dez Green (down from #4). I'm not all that surprised since, like I wrote in the preseason article, final season production is the biggest factor in the score. For that reason I also figured it would mean Luke Reynolds would be #1, so imagine my surprise when I saw Odom at the top. After seeing Green play against Ole Miss I can say I get the hype, he certainly passes the eye test, but the numbers don't support it right now. Got a pair of sleepers in the middle of the board in Tipton and McCullough. Tipton had a solid season with Middle Tennessee last year before hitting the transfer portal. He's having an even better season this go around.

Note: Just a reminder that I run every Lineman through all three boards. I get my top ten Tackles, and then everyone else is eligible to make the Guard and Center boards. I divvy those spots up based on which board they scored higher on. Siereveld had a solid 2025 starting at Left Tackle, this year he got kicked inside to Guard for two games and then moved over to Right Tackle for the most recent two games where his play seems to have improved. As of right now, no measurements, no athletic testing, I would say he's best suited to play Tackle, but that versatility is super important in today's league. Surprised to see Siani on the board and Goosby no where in sight? Yeah, that makes two of us. I guess we'll see if that changes as the season progresses. I had a Virginia Tackle on my preseason top ten too, but it was Boley who can now be found on the board below. Siereveld, Smith, Williams, Baer and Lauck all maintained a spot in my top ten, even if one of them saw a pretty big slide.

Note: I'm not overly impressed with the Tackles, and for that reason I will say that Johnson might be the best looking Lineman right now. Nathan Roy is having a very good season at Left Tackle for the Gophers, he didn't make my top ten Tackles though and he grades out really well at Guard, so here he is. Elijah Page is another Tackle having a very good season. He needed to stay healthy and prove he can live up to the hype, and that's what he's doing. Shadre Hurst moved up in competition and is still playing at a high level. Only four names from my preseason rankings made it back (Johnson, Pieper, Hurst and Evans), although Empey was on my Center board.

Note: I'm not surprised it's Evans and Mitchell at 1 & 2, though I figured it would be in the reverse order. Ryan Rodriguez has not played much prior to this year, but he's class of 2021, so this should be it for him and he's making the most of it (who knows these days though in the wild west of the NCAA). There's two Tackles that made the list, Green and Seaton, height is a concern, meaning being too tall can be a negative for Centers, but until I see the measurements done at the Combine they remain eligible for this board. Only four players made my board again (unless you count Empey making my Guard board), that would be Evans, Mitchell, Montgomery and Nichols. The most surprising to me is that Coleton Price didn't make my top ten.

Note: I don't have a ton to add in here, the athletic testing makes the biggest impact on the score so there's a high chance all of this changes before April. Lubin and Simmons maintain the top two spots, they just flipped. Labarbera has climbed a couple spots, the size concern is still there though and will be until the Combine. John Henry Daley making the top ten, and even playing week 1, is shocking considering the injury that ended his 2025 season.

Note: Lots of change. I've added several names to my watch list, and removed several as well, which led to almost a complete overhaul. There are only two names that remain from my preseason board, Echoles and Holmes. Echoles retains his #2 ranking and Holmes moves up from 5. Thomas has been a star through four weeks, ranking in my top 3 for each of the weeks I've done my player rankings. It's mostly thanks to his stout run defense. Now, if you're looking for more of a pass rush presence then you'll want to turn your attention to Echoles, Holmes, Alexander and Thompkins. I've also gotten to see a some of these guys play this season. Obviously as an Alabama fan I've seen Thompkins play a lot, and I've loved what he's brought to our defense. Gilliam is another one; he was fun to watch against Texas cause he was wreaking havoc in their backfield.

Note: I mentioned in the preseason article that this position was light on players for me. I have been able to add several to the list with their play so far this season though, some of which you see in the list above (Fletcher, Sullivan, Stevens and Palano). Omosigho is finally living up to the hype and all it took was a change of scenery. People had high expectations for him the last couple seasons in Oklahoma, but it didn't pan out. He's making the most out of his time in UCLA though! Chambliss is one of only two players from my preseason top ten (Biles is the other), and his transfer from the Mountain West to the Big Ten has not hindered his level of play. Rojas missed most of last season, but he's back and playing better then he was prior to the injury. I think we could see him continue to climb. And to my surprise, Romaine, not Roberts, is the Texas Tech Linebacker that's been standing out so far this season.

Note: Four of my preseason top five are back in my top five once again. Moore is one of the early favorites to be the first defender drafted in 2027 (Colin Simmons is the favorite), but with the way Evan Johnson has been playing so far this season, I think there could be some competition for the first Corner off the board. My biggest knock on Nestor after last season was his ability to hang in there with the big name Receivers. His biggest competition so far this season was Mississippi State and he gave up a touchdown in that one. He still has Indiana, Penn State and a surprisingly solid Northwestern passing attack to deal with later on this season, so we'll see how he does in those games. Harris, Turner and Albert all grade out better as Slot Corners then they do on the outside, but I take all of it into account when I'm making my rankings, and they grade out high enough in both to make the top ten.

Note: There are three names from my preseason rankings that still make this list and they are all the names you would expect: Alex McLaughlin, Brauntae Johnson, and KJ Bolden. What's most surprising to me is that Bolden is as low as he is. Walters is having a fantastic year and it's reflected here. Greg Smith is my current #1 Safety in my weekly player rankings. He's still pretty young too, so I wouldn't expect to see him head to the draft, more likely he hits the portal and cashes in. I didn't realize it until I was putting the numbers in for this, but McClain is having a very good season too, specifically in the pass coverage and ball hawking areas. Teams love their Ohio State defenders, so his draft stock is one to keep an eye on.

Preseason Boards:
QB and Edge
RB and LB
WR and CB
TE and Safety
OL and DL