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The 2027 Rookie Big Board landscape has undergone major changes. Several prospects have surged into the dynasty fantasy football conversation, others have fallen back toward the pack, and a few names that barely registered in September now look like legitimate early-round rookie draft targets. With the season entering its second half, it is time for an updated look at the top prospects in the 2027 class.
This edition of the 2027 Rookie Big Board features Garret Price’s updated Top 25 for dynasty fantasy football and SuperFlex leagues. Jeremiah Smith remains the prize at the top, but players like Jadan Baugh, Darian Mensah, Drew Mestemaker, and Charlie Becker have forced major changes throughout the rankings. Compared to Garret’s September Way-Too-Early Big Board, this version reflects what we have learned from the first two months of the season and highlights the prospects whose dynasty stock has changed the most.
Click here for Garret’s Way-Too-Early 2027 Big Board from September.
Garret Price’s 2027 Rookie Big Board
| Rank | Player | Pos. | School |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremiah Smith | WR | Ohio State |
| 2 | Jadan Baugh | RB | Florida |
| 3 | Darian Mensah | QB | Miami |
| 4 | Drew Mestemaker | QB | Oklahoma State |
| 5 | Charlie Becker | WR | Indiana |
| 6 | Nate Frazier | RB | Georgia |
| 7 | KJ Duff | WR | Rutgers |
| 8 | Cam Coleman | WR | Texas |
| 9 | Reed Harris | WR | Arizona State |
| 10 | Trinidad Chambliss | QB | Ole Miss |
| 11 | Kewan Lacy | RB | Ole Miss |
| 12 | Jamal Roberts | RB | Missouri |
| 13 | Jamari Johnson | TE | Oregon |
| 14 | Trey’Dez Green | TE | LSU |
| 15 | Jayden Maiava | QB | USC |
| 16 | CJ Carr | QB | Notre Dame |
| 17 | Dante Moore | QB | Oregon |
| 18 | Nick Marsh | WR | Indiana |
| 19 | Bryant Wesco Jr. | WR | Clemson |
| 20 | Ryan Coleman-Williams | WR | Alabama |
| 21 | Jahiem White | RB | North Texas |
| 22 | Wyatt Young | WR | Oklahoma State |
| 23 | Fluff Bothwell | RB | Mississippi State |
| 24 | Duce Alexander | WR | Ole Miss |
| 25 | LJ Martin | RB | BYU |
No. 1 | Jeremiah Smith | WR | Ohio State
6’4″ | 222 lbs.
Nothing has changed at the top, and nothing is going to. Smith has already taken Ohio State’s career records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns, and he was sitting near 1,000 yards and a dozen scores by mid-October. He has the size, the speed, the hands (just four career drops), and the production. There is nothing left to argue about.
I said in September that he might be the best receiver to come out of college since Calvin Johnson, and I am not backing off that one bit. If you are in a league where you could have the 1.01 a full year ahead of time, you take Jeremiah Smith and go enjoy your life.
No. 2 | Jadan Baugh | RB | Florida
6’1″ | 225 lbs.
Back in September, I told you Baugh wasn’t my RB1, but he might be my favorite. Consider that settled. Through the first four games, he ran for 600 yards and 11 touchdowns at over 7 yards a carry, and he cleared 100 yards every single week. That includes 142 yards and 3 scores in the upset of Ole Miss.
While he is still incredibly physical, he is showing he can be a part of the passing game too, bringing in 9 passes in his last 5 games. However, my comp has evolved over the course of the season. A bigger back who lost weight, became quicker, and is showing great patience screams Le’Veon Bell. He still won’t have the fastest 40 time, but everything else says he is the best back in the class.
No. 3 | Darian Mensah | QB | Miami
6’3″ | 205 lbs.
One of the biggest risers on my board, Darian Mensah was 37th in my September rankings. Now he is third, and honestly, that probably still undersells it. He opened with 401 yards and 5 touchdowns against Stanford and never looked back.
He has only thrown 1 interception so far while tying for the lead in CFB with 25 touchdown passes. PFF has him as one of the top-graded quarterbacks in the country. The one question mark is how shallow the offense is. His average depth of target is under 8 yards, and he gets the ball out in a hurry, so I want to see him attack downfield more as the schedule toughens.
No. 4 | Drew Mestemaker | QB | Oklahoma State
6’3″ | 215 lbs.
This is the wildest story in the class. Mestemaker came in as a zero-star recruit who started as a walk-on, and he led the nation in passing yards last year at North Texas. Then he followed Eric Morris to Oklahoma State on a reported $7 million deal.
He opened with a clunker against Tulsa (2 INTs, 241 yards), and everyone started grumbling. Two weeks later, he beat No. 6 Oregon with 317 passing yards and 109 rushing yards. That rushing part is the fantasy kicker because that is what gives him his crazy ceiling.
The concern is the Air Raid system inflating everything, but you can’t fake what he did against a top-10 team. He wasn’t on my September board at all, and now he’s a top-5 guy.
No. 5 | Charlie Becker | WR | Indiana
6’4″ | 208 lbs.
I had Becker 22nd in September, and I was way too low. He was a backup who turned into the best skill player on a national championship team, and he’s a former Tennessee state champion hurdler, which tells you everything about the body control and balance.
At 6’4″, he moves like a much smaller receiver, and PFF has him in the top 15 at wide receiver nationally this year. The small-sample worry I had in the summer is gone. He is the clear No. 1 in Bloomington now, even with Nick Marsh joining the squad, and he has a chance to be a top-15 pick in the NFL come draft day.
No. 6 | Nate Frazier | RB | Georgia
5’10” | 210 lbs.
Frazier was the No. 2 running back in his class out of high school and has been a hot name ever since. He has been a high-level contributor since he was a true freshman, and a lot of people believe he will be the fastest back in this class when the testing numbers come out.
That is a big deal to me at 5’10” and 210. The thing I want to see more of is the receiving work because he is more of a pure runner right now, but adding more pass-catching could make him special.
Georgia has a way of turning backs into pros, and Frazier looks like the next one on the assembly line. I love the upside, and I think he will likely be a Round 2 pick at the next level.
No. 7 | KJ Duff | WR | Rutgers
6’6″ | 225 lbs.
If you want the prototype jump-ball receiver, Duff is your guy. At 6’6″ and 225 pounds, he has a tight end’s frame with a receiver’s movement skills, and the red zone is basically his playground.
Corners can be in perfect position and still lose the rep because of his length. He has already put up huge numbers on the season, recording nearly half of the team’s receiving yards and over half of the receiving touchdowns. Whatever QB is blessed enough to get Duff on their roster will instantly get a boost to their dynasty value.
No. 8 | Cam Coleman | WR | Texas
6’3″ | 201 lbs.
I had Coleman 3rd overall and WR2 in September, so let’s be honest about what’s happened. The stats are not what I wanted. He has 23 catches for 409 yards and 7 touchdowns through 8 games, and he just hasn’t been getting the targets or connecting consistently with his quarterback.
The big-play ability is still there, with a very deep average depth of target, but the production isn’t.
Here’s where I land: I still believe in the player. He has the size, the length, and the athletic profile of a first-round receiver, and the lack of volume is more about Texas than him. But I can’t get him any higher than this, and he is only this high due to my priors. He needs a big November.
No. 9 | Reed Harris | WR | Arizona State
6’5″ | 217 lbs.
Harris was not on my September board, and now he’s inside the top 10. He was a quarterback in Montana who moved to receiver as a senior, then caught balls on a 2-10 Boston College team before Arizona State picked him up in the portal.
That path is why I love him. He’s still relatively new to the position, which means there is a lot of room to grow. PFF has him among the 10 best receivers in the country, and he caught 9 passes for 189 yards and 2 scores in his coming-out party against Texas A&M.
At 6’5″ and 217 with reported sub-4.5 speed, he looks the part. ASU just sent a receiver to the first round, and Harris could be the next.
No. 10 | Trinidad Chambliss | QB | Ole Miss
6’0″ | 205 lbs.
Chambliss is still the same story: a kid from Division II who had no business being here and just keeps winning. The 3,900 passing yards and 500 rushing yards last year weren’t a fluke, and the dual-threat upside is exactly what you want in SuperFlex.
He has a good arm, he’s a plus athlete, and he can win with both. The issue is the same as it was in September, which is how NFL teams will feel about a 6-foot quarterback. A judge gave him this extra year, so the sample is bigger now, and that’s good.
I think the ceiling is incredibly high, but the floor is fairly low.
No. 11 | Kewan Lacy | RB | Ole Miss
5’11” | 205 lbs.
Lacy was 5th overall and RB2 in September, and this has been a rough year. He hurt his lower leg in the opener, his shoulder against LSU, and then dislocated that shoulder against Texas and missed the Auburn game. This is the same shoulder that needed offseason labrum surgery after the playoffs.
I don’t want to overreact because the talent is as good as any back in the class. He scored 24 touchdowns last year, and he’s electric in the open field. But at 205 pounds, the durability concern is real, and I can’t ignore it.
If he finishes healthy, I’m happy to move him back up.
No. 12 | Jamal Roberts | RB | Missouri
6’0″ | 216 lbs.
A name nobody had on their radar in the summer, Roberts was a backup who ran for 753 yards at 6.1 a carry last season. When Ahmad Hardy went down in the offseason, he stepped in and took the job.
Back-to-back 200-yard games, including 222 yards on 34 carries against Texas A&M, got everyone’s attention. I like that he’s a real 6’0″ and 216 pounds, built to handle a heavy workload.
The question is whether it’s a one-year run as the lead dog or something more because he never had a feature role before this year. Either way, he’s earned his spot on this list.
No. 13 | Jamari Johnson | TE | Oregon
6’5″ | 255 lbs.
Jamari Johnson is my TE1. Oregon has quietly become a tight end factory, and now that Kenyon Sadiq is in the league, Johnson has the TE room to himself.
He has the size, the build, and the speed. What’s missing is consistency from game to game, and that’s what I keep coming back to. If he puts it all together, we could see Oregon produce a first-round tight end in back-to-back drafts, which is wild for a program that wasn’t known for the position.
In TE premium formats, he’s a first-round rookie pick for me.
No. 14 | Trey’Dez Green | TE | LSU
6’7″ | 237 lbs.
Green played basketball at LSU before he played football, and you see it on tape, especially in the end zone, where the rebounding instincts show up on every contested ball. Seven touchdown catches last year prove it works.
He still needs to clean up the finer points of being a tight end, like blocking and route detail. But the ceiling is crazy. If you want traits, he’s your guy.
I’d take the swing in the late first of a TE premium rookie draft, assuming he gets Round 1 NFL Draft capital.
No. 15 | Jayden Maiava | QB | USC
6’4″ | 225 lbs.
Maiava looks like a quarterback built in a lab: 6’4″, 225, a legit NFL arm, and real rushing ability. He started at UNLV before USC beat out Georgia for his services. The raw tools are all there.
The issue is the same as it was this summer: decision-making. He threw 10 interceptions last year and could have had more. The good news is the accuracy is solid, so it’s about reining in the gunslinger.
Losing Lemon and Lane to the NFL Draft in 2026 was a big blow, but seeing him still ball out with a bunch of young players shows his ascension wasn’t solely based on his playmakers.
No. 16 | CJ Carr | QB | Notre Dame
6’2″ | 215 lbs.
Carr is the cleanest evaluation in the class. He’s the grandson of Lloyd Carr, he grew up around football, and it shows in how he processes the game.
He makes good decisions, gets the ball out on time, and plays with great rhythm. The issue is the ceiling. He’s not much of an athlete, the arm is good but not great, and he has a slight frame. He’s a true high-floor, low-ceiling guy to me.
That’s fine for a starter, but not the type I’d chase in SuperFlex. I know I am lower than consensus, and I am okay with that.
No. 17 | Dante Moore | QB | Oregon
6’3″ | 206 lbs.
I had Moore 6th overall in September, and this is my biggest drop. He could have been a top-5 pick last year and went back to school to improve, which I respect.
But I haven’t seen enough growth in his short time in 2026 to keep him up there. He’s solid in a lot of areas and elite in very few, and he still seems affected by pressure more than I’d like. I want to see more of his legs because there’s untapped athleticism there.
He needed a full season to ease my concerns, and even though it is not his fault, he didn’t have the time to do it. The talent is real; I just don’t think the ceiling is as high as the name.
No. 18 | Nick Marsh | WR | Indiana
6’3″ | 210 lbs.
Marsh is as good as anyone in the class at the catch point, and the contested-catch skills have been on display since his days at Michigan State.
He’s the receiver I compared to Denzel Mims in the summer, someone everyone knew was elite at the catch point with questions about the rest of the game. Indiana has been a great landing spot, and he has answered many questions.
Becker has been the unquestioned leading WR on the team, but this could be a rare situation where there are two first-round pass catchers on the same squad. If not, Marsh is a lock for Day 2.
No. 19 | Bryant Wesco Jr. | WR | Clemson
6’2″ | 195 lbs.
It’s hard to say a guy has looked good when he hasn’t scored a single touchdown all season. Still, he keeps making big plays and catching a fair number of passes.
Bryant Wesco Jr. is a big play waiting to happen, but the offense just isn’t the same as the one we saw in the 2010s and early 2020s. Talent-wise, I think he’s a top-five WR in this class, but we’ll have to wait and see whether the production can match that.
No. 20 | Ryan Coleman-Williams | WR | Alabama
6’0″ | 184 lbs.
As a 17-year-old true freshman, Coleman-Williams looked like a seasoned vet in some of the loudest stadiums in the country. The movement skills and body control are NFL-ready. That’s why he’s still on the list.
But he’s a 184-pound receiver who has had trouble with physicality, and the ball skills have been mediocre. The ceiling is absolutely there, but the floor worries me.
He is the kind of player I’d bet on in the second round of a rookie draft, not the first.
No. 21 | Jahiem White | RB | North Texas
5’7″ | 190 lbs.
New to my board, a 5’7″ back usually doesn’t sit this high on my list, but I said the same thing about Isaac Brown in September, and the tape changed my mind.
White leads the country in rushing yards and has added another 200-plus through the air. The knee injury that ended his 2025 season in Week 2 was the reason I wasn’t paying attention, but it clearly isn’t slowing him down.
He’s electric with the ball in his hands. The size and the competition are the limiting factors, but he plays much more physical and has better contact balance than one would assume. I’d rather take the swing than leave him off my draft list.
No. 22 | Wyatt Young | WR | Oklahoma State
6’0″ | 195 lbs.
Wyatt Young is the other half of the Mestemaker story. He caught 70 passes for 1,264 yards and 10 touchdowns at North Texas last year as a former quarterback who moved to receiver, and PFF named him the top-graded wide receiver in the portal.
He’s backed that up so far, with 43 catches for 713 yards and 8 touchdowns through 7 games. That includes an 8-catch, 192-yard game at West Virginia, and he had scored in 5 straight games heading into the Colorado game.
The only real knock is his profile. He’s a 6’0″, 195-pound slot receiver in an Air Raid offense, and those guys are tough to project to the NFL. But the production speaks for itself. He wasn’t on my September board, and now he’s inside the top 25.
No. 23 | Fluff Bothwell | RB | Mississippi State
5’10” | 230 lbs.
It’s hard not to like a 5’10”, 230-pound back with a name like Fluff. The former South Alabama transfer ran for 677 yards last year and has been the lead guy again for the Bulldogs, with a 113-yard, 2-touchdown day at Minnesota and 177 yards of offense and 2 scores against Missouri in September.
October has been rougher. He left the Alabama game after one carry with a lower-leg injury and missed the LSU game, but he came back against Oklahoma and ran for 111 yards on 17 carries.
He is a pure power back but has also shown a bit in the passing game. Fluff Bothwell is one of my favorite sleeper backs in the class.
No. 24 | Duce Alexander | WR | Ole Miss
6’0″ | 180 lbs.
The son of a former NFL receiver, Duce Alexander transferred from Wake Forest and stepped into the WR1 role at Ole Miss after the Rebels lost their top three receivers.
He caught 44 passes for 684 yards last year, and he’s versatile enough to do some damage on the ground as well. He’s listed at only 180 pounds, so I wonder about the NFL fit, and a lower-body injury in the opener didn’t help.
But he has a great connection with Chambliss, and the production has been real. He’s a nice sleeper in the late rounds.
No. 25 | LJ Martin | RB | BYU
6’2″ | 225 lbs.
Martin was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year last season, and he came back for his senior year when he could have been in the NFL.
I had him 36th in September, and he has earned the jump. He’s a physical, workhorse-style back who ran for 176 yards and 3 touchdowns against Colorado State. He was reported out four to six weeks with a lower-body injury in early October, so we should be getting a look at his health soon.
He’s also been a limited part of the passing game. If he finishes strong, he’ll climb quickly.
For more 2027 Rookie Big Boards, see all the updates during the season by our writing staff.
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