Charlie Campbell
A few weeks ago, we reported that Texas’s Arch Manning was the highest-rated quarterback on NFL teams’ preseason watch lists. With Texas Tech’s Brendan Sorsby being denied entry into the NFL’s Supplemental Draft, there is one more early-round prospect for the 2027 NFL Draft. However, the 2027 group is a deep year for quarterback talent, and other quarterbacks had early-round preseason grades from the advance scouts. After Manning, the advance scouts had Oregon’s Dante Moore, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers, LSU’s Sam Leavitt, and Sorsby graded in the top 32 prospects.
Moore was a dynamic point-producer for the Ducks in 2025, making plays with his arm and legs. In 2025, Moore completed 72 percent of his passes for 3,565 yards with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Moore is a dangerous quarterback who is tough to defend. In 2023 with UCLA, Moore completed 54 percent of his passes for 1,610 yards with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Moore has a good arm and can throw some beautiful passes deep down the field. Moore has a lot of talent and upside, but against Indiana in the college football playoff, Moore struggled. He showed that he needs to improve his processing speed and was holding the ball too long, leading to taking unnecessary sacks. Team sources say that, having stood next to Moore (6-2, 215), he is nearly the same size as Rams quarterback Ty Simpson. Size was a criticism of Simpson, so Moore could have some of that next spring.
The 6-foot-3, 242-pound Sellers is known to have a great skill set with a power arm and running ability. In 2025, Sellers was hurt by an awful offensive line as he completed 61 percent of his passes for 2,437 yards with 13 touchdowns passing, eight interceptions, five rushing scores, and some yardage on the ground. In 2024, Sellers completed 66 percent of his passes for 2,534 yards with 18 touchdown passes, seven interceptions, and seven rushing touchdowns. Sellers needs to improve his accuracy and fundamentals as a pocket passer.
While recovering from a Lisfranc injury, Leavitt transferred to LSU for the 2026 season. In 2025, Leavitt completed 61 percent of his passes for 1,628 yards with 10 touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games before going out for the season in late October. In 2024, Leavitt did a good job of managing the game and using the playmakers at his disposal while leading Arizona State into the college football playoffs. He completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,885 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions. Leavitt (6-2, 200) is not big, but he was an efficient passer and has some arm talent.
Sorsby (6-2, 238) started out his college career at Indiana and was a backup in 2022. In 2023, he saw some action, completing 57 percent of his passes for 1,587 yards with 15 touchdowns passing, four rushing, and five interceptions. After that season, he transferred to Cincinnati. In 2024, he completed 64 percent of his passes for 2,813 yards with 18 touchdowns and seven interceptions. In 2025 with Cincinnati, Sorsby completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,800 yards with 27 touchdowns and five interceptions. He ran for nine touchdowns in each of his seasons with the Bearcats. Sorsby transferred to Texas Tech after the season, but entered treatment last April for a gambling addiction. Sorsby reportedly bet over $90,000 on pro and college sports, including making bets on his own team. Sorsby had a suspension from the Big 12. After successfully suing to be play, other teams in the Big 12 conference revolted, and the controversy caused Sorsby to seek entry into the NFL’s Supplemental Draft. The NFL declined to hold a Supplemental Draft and encouraged Sorsby to prepare for the 2027 NFL Draft.
The preseason grades are not set in stone, and scouts will forget them soon. In the 2018 preseason, Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray and Alabama defensive tackle Quinnen Williams were not on the preseason watch list. Yet Murray became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft, and Williams went third a few months later. There have been other late-round projections, such as Joe Burrow, who ended up skyrocketing during the season. Other players had high preseason projections but were mid- or late-round picks months later. Thus, the value is more of a watch list than a reflection of players’ abilities. But entering the 2026 season, these quarterbacks are highly rated. Some of them are in my my latest 2027 NFL Mock Draft, but some of them are not in the first round, and I have a different quarterback going in the first round not mentioned in the group above.
Walt