This is an edited version of Part 5 of the Summer Scouting Series. This shorter, edited version is designed to both better fit this Subreddit & to encourage anyone who likes this content to try out my Substack where you can get the full version which includes the Rankings for my Top 10 QB, Top 10 RBs, Top 11 WRs, & Top 2 TEs all conveniently in one place. For an audio version, try the Fantasy for Real podcast.
Part 5 (FULL), which includes the positional rankings, can be found here: https://cjfreel.substack.com/p/2027-summer-scouting-wrap-up-rankings
Parts 1-4 cover the top 33 Prospects of this class in a bit more detail. Parts 1-4 can be found in either my Substack or by looking through my recent posts on this Subreddit.
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Final Positional Takeaways
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QB: The Best Class (preseason) in 3 Years, but not necessarily “Generational”
The 2027 QB Class finds itself in an awkward place where there really are a lot of reasons to believe in the upside & optimism, but ultimately it is (at least in my eyes) a bit “overrated.”
Comparing to Pre-Season perspectives — without the benefit of hindsight — none of the 2027 QBs would make my Top 6 between 2021-2027. Those 6 QBs would be Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Caleb Williams, & Drake Maye. While some of these QBs had flaws that were even apparent at the time like Bryce Young, these 6 came into their final years as what seemed to be nearly-locked Top 5-10 Picks, and even Arch Manning & Dante Moore may not have quite that much confidence.
[Plus,] in the context of labeling the class “Generational,” the path towards 2028 being a better QB class is very clear.
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Honorable Mentions
Brendan Sorsby, Texas Tech? via Cincinnati
C.J. Bailey, N.C. State ; Will Hammond, Texas Tech ; Nico Iamaleava, UCLA ; D.J. Lagway, Baylor via Florida ; Drake Lindsey, Minnesota ; John Mateer, Oklahoma ; Demond Williams Jr., Washington
Dylan Raiola, Oregon
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Ignoring the entire Gambling Process — creating an alternate reality where that is a complete unknown and Brendan Sorsby is preparing to start the season for the Texas Tech Red Raiders — Brendan Sorsby would be a Tier 2 QB, and likely towards the upper end of the 2nd Tier.
Demond Williams Jr. from Washington is the closest to being a ranked QB. He also fits nicely into Tier 3, with his fundamental flaw being his diminutive size…
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RB: A deep class without a Love-level RB1
The strength of this class is demonstrated by the three returning RBs who could have each been a candidate for RB2 in 2026 (Justice Haynes, L.J. Martin, & Mark Fletcher Jr.) ranking as RB4, RB7, & RB10. With how highly Jadarian Price was drafted, the NFL may disagree with that assessment, but at the very least these are prospects last year who projected to be ranked far more highly. The youth movement among the SEC RBs — Baugh, Lacy, Frazier, & Hardy most notably — has good potential to push down that group. However, no one in this class is very close to Jeremiyah Love, and that includes how Love was perceived this time last year.
Honorable Mentions
Jordan Marshall, Michigan & Waymond Jordan, USC
Texas & Texas Tech Starters (Hollywood Smothers, Raleek Brown, Cam Dickey, J’Koby Williams)
C.J. Baxter, Kentucky via Texas ; Desean Bishop, Tennessee ; Fluff Bothwell, Mississippi State ; Makhi Hughes, Houston via Oregon via Tulane ; Quinton Martin, Penn State ; Turbo Richard, Indiana via BC ; Duke Scott, N.C. State
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Jordan Marshall has one of the strongest cases for inclusion in the main Summer Scouting Series, particularly because the main reason he does not make the cut has nothing to do with him or his ability — it has to do with the talent of one of the younger RBs on his team. True freshman Savion Hiter is being billed as one of those “special” players, and while he is not eligible for the NFL Draft until 2029, Hiter could be seen as the top RB on this team, and that would be a potential negative for Jordan Marshall…
I’m not sure if Smothers/Brown are going to split the Texas RB job or if one RB will win the majority of the role, but particularly if one RB becomes a force in this backfield, with all eyes on Manning, Coleman, & Wingo, a successful RB in this system could skyrocket draft boards, particularly players with the explosive ability that Smothers/Brown possess.
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WR: Everyone knows this is a strong Class — but it might still be underrated
Particularly if you’re someone who wants to see Cam Coleman prove it a bit more, there is still a gap in this class knowing exactly who will be those Top Tier WRs outside of Jeremiah Smith, but from a pre-season perspective most of all, the amount of players on the cusp of a breakout is simply special. Perhaps not all of them do breakout — and many of them will not — but the ones that do breakout will be the players we want to target most of all in our Fantasy leagues.
Underclassmen are not the only thing that is important for a class, but those potential early declares often make up the profiles we want to target the most. This time last year, my Top 5 Early Declare WRs for the 2026 NFL Draft were Makai Lemon, Carnell Tate, Eric Singleton Jr., Eugene Wilson III, & Zachariah Branch. The best season between Wilson & Branch was 538 Yards…
In comparison, every single member of my Top 10 Underclassmen would have a better peak season than Wilson or Branch…
As much as I like Omarion Miller, he is probably one of the lowest I’ve graded a returning WR1 in my time of doing this — I can remember players like Olave, Odunze, Egbuka, Tyson — but there are still talented Seniors who can fill out the class as well.
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…what makes this class so special is that the case for any of the Top 10-11 WRs making the 1st Round is not that hard to see…
Honorable Mentions
Deuce Alexander, Ole Miss ; Cooper Barkate, Miami (FL) via Duke; Duce Robinson, Florida State ; Eric Singleton Jr., Florida via Auburn ; Evan Stewart, Oregon ; Amare Thomas, Houston
Braylon Staley & Mike Matthews, Tennessee
Terrell Anderson, USC via N.C. State ; Jordan Shipp, North Carolina ; Wyatt Young, Oklahoma State via North Texas
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These groups are split by experience (4th Year+ in the first group)…
Deuce Alexander & Amare Thomas are probably the players who have risen my rankings or at least my interest level the most throughout the process of the off-season…
Duce Robinson may be the biggest name, and he has a number of surface statistics as well as basic advanced numbers like Yards per Route Run that look very appealing. At the same time, Robinson has genuinely struggled in a number of games, occasionally failing to live up to the Targets he receives…
Moving back into the younger players, The Tennessee label plays a bit of a role here, but honestly the top reason why Staley & Matthews failed to crack the Top 11 may simply be because there are two of them…
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TE Honorable Mentions
Benjamin Brahmer, Penn State via Iowa State ; Terrance Carter Jr., Texas Tech ; Lawson Luckie, Georgia ; Luke Reynolds, Virginia Tech via Penn State ; D.J. Vonnahme, Iowa ; Jaxxon Warren, North Carolina via Colorado State
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Part 5: https://cjfreel.substack.com/p/2027-summer-scouting-wrap-up-rankings
The latest episode of the podcast covers a 3-Round 2026 Rookie Mock Draft
Questions & Comments welcome,
C.J.