While there’s a lot of focus on about a year from now for the 2027 NFL Draft and projecting that, we still have an entire college football season to play months from now! The Heisman Trophy winner might give a good indication of who will indeed be a high pick in the draft. The past five Heisman winners—Fernando Mendoza, Travis Hunter, Jayden Daniels, Caleb Williams, and Bryce Young—were all selected in the top two.
FanDuel College Football odds have Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr as the current Heisman favorite. Yet, early 2027 mock drafts don’t have Carr—who is entering just his redshirt sophomore season—anywhere near the top pick in the draft. Does something have to give, one way or another? Let’s look at the early Heisman landscape as it relates to not only this fall—but next spring.
Ole Miss QB Trinidad Chambliss (+1100)
Coming in at third for the early Heisman outlook, Chambliss leads a dangerous and motivated Ole Miss squad that made an admirable College Football Playoff run after Lane Kiffin left for LSU. Among the top NCAAF latest news of the offseason was Chambliss taking on the NCAA in court to get another year of eligibility. It’s fair that he gets a second season of Division I football, and he’ll attempt to build on an outstanding 2025 that included 22 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions through the air.
Oregon QB Dante Moore (+1200)
If looking directly at the draft odds, Texas quarterback Arch Manning is at the top. But many of the mock drafts and pundits have Oregon’s Dante Moore as the early projected No. 1 overall pick. Moore is also lower in the Heisman odds, with Manning coming in at No. 2 there compared to Moore being outside the top five. Dan Lanning has kept the Ducks consistently near the top of the rankings and in the CFP mix even since joining the competitive Big Ten, and Moore would be a huge part of a successful 2026.
Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith (+1300)
This one stands out as a potential value if correlating high NFL draft pick to Heisman chances. Smith is seen as arguably the top overall player in college football, who arguably could have come out the past year or two if he was eligible and might’ve been a top-five pick. Pretty much any team that isn’t looking for a quarterback next spring is likely to think hard about placing the Ohio State weapon at the top of their board. The All-American finished sixth in Heisman voting last year and can become the first receiver since DeVonta Smith in 2020 to win the award.
Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed (+2700)
Reed didn’t get enough respect last season for a Heisman worthy campaign that didn’t lead to many people taking him seriously as a candidate for the honor. Heading into the summer, Reed isn’t even seen as a top 10 favorite. Though they lost a lot of talent to the NFL, Texas A&M is becoming one of the bigger powers in college football. Reed’s dual threat skillset could put him squarely in the race for both Heisman and a top pick in the draft if teams are comfortable with his slighter build.
South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers (+3500)
There’s natural ability for Sellers, who was seen as a potential top 2026 draft pick before a relatively disappointing fall that led to him returning to school. The SEC is a challenge, but if South Carolina competes with a bunch of players returning including star edge defender Dylan Stewart—don’t totally sleep on their quarterback.