If the 2026 season ended today (it doesn't), the Philadelphia Eagles would have a top five pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. And so, let's take a look at the top prospects in the 2027 draft and analyze which players make sense as Eagles targets.

ESPN's Mel Kiper published his top 25 prospects last week. His top 15:

1. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
2. Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State
3. Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame
4. Darian Mensah, QB, Miami
5. Colin Simmons, Edge, Texas
6. Xavier Gilliam, DT, Tennessee
7. Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss
8. Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana
9. Dylan Stewart, Edge, South Carolina
10. CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame
11. Chris Cole, LB, Georgia
12. Austin Simmons, QB, Missouri
13. Ashton Hampton, CB, Clemson
14. Will Echoles, DT, Ole Miss
15. Trevor Lauck, OT, Iowa

Let's do this by position: 

If the Eagles have a very high pick, they likely won't select an offensive lineman

The Eagles need to rebuild their offensive line, their bread and butter the last few decades. If there were elite offensive line prospects projected in the top 10, the Eagles would take hard looks at them. 

There were a fair number of draft analysts who had Texas OT Trevor Goosby in their top 10, but he suffered a torn patellar tendon and his season is over. He won't go top 10 while recovering from that injury. There's also LSU's Jordan Seaton, who some have in the top 10, but others have ranked much lower. Kiper has Seaton 20th, for example. The top-rated offensive line prospect on Kiper's list is Iowa's Trevor Lauck, at 15. (We showed Kiper's top 15 just to note where the top OT was.)

If there simply isn't a blue chip offensive tackle available in the top 5 to 10 picks, they shouldn't reach for one.

Forget about off-ball linebacker

Georgia's Chris Cole is a really good player, but the Eagles still have Zack Baun and they just selected an off-ball linebacker in Jihaad Campbell in the first round in 2025. Also, Jeremiah Trotter has looked like a starting-caliber player this season. 

That's not happening.

You can probably cross off cornerback, too

Notre Dame's Leonard Moore is an elite prospect, and Ashton Hampton is a favorite of mine (we reviewed him here). But the Eagles have a pair of young All-Pro corners in Quinyon Mitchell and Cooper DeJean who they are going to pay big money to this upcoming offseason, even if DeJean has had a down year.

A third cornerback is needed, assuming Riq Woolen is playing elsewhere in 2027. But not that high in the draft.

Interior defensive line is similar to cornerback

The Eagles have already paid Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, but they're a little further into their careers than Mitchell and DeJean. Also, Moro Ojomo is still on the roster. 

Although the interior of the defensive line is a much more important building block position than cornerback, it's hard to justify a top five pick on one when the team could just prioritize re-signing Ojomo and fix a different position.

OK, so let's cross off all the players at the positions we have eliminated:

1. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State
2. Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State
3. Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame
4. Darian Mensah, QB, Miami
5. Colin Simmons, Edge, Texas
6. Xavier Gilliam, DT, Tennessee
7. Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss
8. Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana
9. Dylan Stewart, Edge, South Carolina
10. CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame
11. Chris Cole, LB, Georgia
12. Austin Simmons, QB, Missouri
13. Ashton Hampton, CB, Clemson
14. Will Echoles, DT, Ole Miss
15. Trevor Lauck, OT, Iowa

Continuing on...

Only one wide receiver makes sense this high

A lot of people thought Jeremiah Smith was the best football player in the country when he was a freshman, much less a junior. His stats:

Former OSU teammate Carnell Tate, who was nowhere near as good as Smith, got selected fourth overall in the 2026 draft. Smith is going to be a top five pick, and will draw comparisons to guys like Julio Jones and A.J. Green because of his blend of size, athleticism, skill, and competitiveness. Gus Johnson almost had three heart attacks calling this guy's games last season.

Smith is clearly the best player in the draft, and it will be interesting to see how many quarterbacks and edge rushers go before him.

Taking a wide receiver in the top 5 probably isn't the best use of resources for an Eagles team that should refocus their priority on the trenches, but when a player as elite as Smith is available, it is not a bad process to just take him.

The other blue chip receiver prospect is Indiana's Charlie Becker. He is a great player, but not special enough to take in the top five this year like Smith is.

There are two special edge rushers

Texas' Colin Simmons is the nation's premier quarterback hunter. He had 9 sacks as a freshman in 2024, 12 sacks as a sophomore in 2025, and 10.5 sacks already in 2026. He has 31.5 sacks and 8 forced fumbles in 35 career games.

He has elite speed, he bends around the corner, and when he gets you overcommitted to his speed, he'll run through you with speed-to-power moves, or with inside counters. His pass rush ability is going to draw comparisons to Von Miller. But he is also a great run defender with good awareness and a willingness to set the edge or take on lead blockers.

The Eagles have a need for help on the edges after they have gotten nothing from Jonathan Greenard this season, and are likely to only keep one of Nolan Smith or Jalyx Hunt (likely Hunt). And obviously, edge rusher is a premium position.

South Carolina's Dylan Stewart is a true junior who has 13 sacks and 9 forced fumbles in 29 career games. Those are very good numbers, but not on Simmons' level. However, Stewart has traits that could make him a top 10 pick in the 2027 draft, and some analysts actually like him more than Simmons.

This dude has ridiculous bend and explosiveness:

NFL teams with top 10 picks are going to have to do a lot of work on Stewart's character, since he was suspended for one game for an assortment of transgressions during a loss to Alabama this season.

Let's go ahead and update the list again:

1. Jeremiah Smith, WR, Ohio State ✅
2. Drew Mestemaker, QB, Oklahoma State
3. Leonard Moore, CB, Notre Dame
4. Darian Mensah, QB, Miami
5. Colin Simmons, Edge, Texas ✅
6. Xavier Gilliam, DT, Tennessee
7. Trinidad Chambliss, QB, Ole Miss
8. Charlie Becker, WR, Indiana
9. Dylan Stewart, Edge, South Carolina ✅
10. CJ Carr, QB, Notre Dame
11. Chris Cole, LB, Georgia
12. Austin Simmons, QB, Missouri
13. Ashton Hampton, CB, Clemson
14. Will Echoles, DT, Ole Miss
15. Trevor Lauck, OT, Iowa

That leaves the quarterbacks

When I have profiled quarterbacks in our prospects series, I have included the following disclaimer so my house doesn't get egged.

Jalen Hurts had a great 2022, then a down 2023, then another great season (or at least finish) in 2024, and then another down season in 2025. Each time Hurts has faced serious adversity with the Eagles, he has bounced back with a strong season. However, in 2026, his season was compromised by a porous offensive line, an offensive scheme that has far more questions than answers, and he is now sidelined for the season (and maybe beyond?) with blood clots in his lungs.

Hurts is under contract through 2028. He is a Philadelphia legend and a Super Bowl MVP. But many facets of the Eagles' future are uncertain, namely his health and the head coach. If the Eagles' season continues to spiral completely out of control and the team moves on from Nick Sirianni, a new head coach might prefer a quarterback other than Hurts. Whether you love Hurts or not, it would be naïve to assume the Eagles aren't at least doing homework on the 2027 quarterback class. And so, we'll profile some quarterbacks who make sense as well.

If the Eagles are indeed interested in selecting a quarterback, the consensus top three guys are Oklahoma's Drew Mestemaker, Miami's Darian Mensah, and Ole Miss' Trinidad Chambliss.

Mestemaker has the best arm, Mensah is more of a "get it out" anticipation passer with an absurdly high completion percentage, and Chambliss is the best playmaker of the three with his legs. We already profiled all three: Mestemaker here, Chambliss here, and, spoiler, Mensah is already written for publication on Saturday morning.

Quarterback is a wildcard.

Conclusion

We'll see how much the consensus top prospects change between now and April. But in a "way too early" look at the landscape of the 2027 draft, Jeremiah Smith, Colin Simmons, Dylan Stewart, or a quarterback make the most sense if the Birds land in the top 5.