Tennessee defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam was not on Mel Kiper Jr.’s first 2027 Big Board two weeks ago. On the updated version, he is sixth.
Kiper refreshed his top 25 on Friday, October 30, and the top five did not move: Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith is still No. 1, Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker is still No. 2, followed by Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore, Miami quarterback Darian Mensah and Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons. Below them, four players are new to the list, four have dropped off, and Texas tackle Trevor Goosby is gone after his season-ending knee injury.
Kiper repeats that the list is not a mock draft but his own ranking of the best players in the class, based on film and conversations around the league.
Kiper’s updated top 25
The last column shows each player’s rank on Kiper’s first board, published October 15.
| Rank | Player | Pos. | School | Oct. 15 rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeremiah Smith | WR | Ohio State | 1 |
| 2 | Drew Mestemaker | QB | Oklahoma State | 2 |
| 3 | Leonard Moore | CB | Notre Dame | 3 |
| 4 | Darian Mensah | QB | Miami (FL) | 4 |
| 5 | Colin Simmons | EDGE | Texas | 5 |
| 6 | Xavier Gilliam | DT | Tennessee | Not ranked |
| 7 | Trinidad Chambliss | QB | Ole Miss | 6 |
| 8 | Charlie Becker | WR | Indiana | 11 |
| 9 | Dylan Stewart | EDGE | South Carolina | 9 |
| 10 | CJ Carr | QB | Notre Dame | 8 |
| 11 | Chris Cole | LB | Georgia | 7 |
| 12 | Austin Simmons | QB | Missouri | 10 |
| 13 | Ashton Hampton | CB | Clemson | 13 |
| 14 | Will Echoles | DT | Ole Miss | 16 |
| 15 | Trevor Lauck | OT | Iowa | 23 |
| 16 | Nick Marsh | WR | Indiana | Not ranked |
| 17 | KJ Duff | WR | Rutgers | Not ranked |
| 18 | Kelley Jones | CB | Mississippi State | 20 |
| 19 | Jadan Baugh | RB | Florida | 14 |
| 20 | Jordan Seaton | OT | LSU | 17 |
| 21 | Greg Johnson | G/C | Minnesota | 15 |
| 22 | Kade Pieper | G | Iowa | 19 |
| 23 | Trey’Dez Green | TE | LSU | Not ranked |
| 24 | Arch Manning | QB | Texas | 24 |
| 25 | Dante Moore | QB | Oregon | 25 |
Gilliam jumps in at No. 6
“No player in college football has improved his draft stock more since the start of the season than Gilliam,” Kiper wrote. The Penn State transfer followed defensive coordinator Jim Knowles to Tennessee and has 25 tackles, six sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, 24 pressures and two forced fumbles in eight games, starting with three sacks against Furman in the opener.
“He is incredibly quick and explosive at the snap, and he generates a ton of interior pressure as a result,” Kiper wrote. “For a defensive tackle to go early in the draft, he must be consistently disruptive. Gilliam checks that box.”
It is the same climb Gilliam has made elsewhere this week. He moved into the top five of Charlie Campbell’s October 28 big board, and Nick Baumgardner’s October 30 mock sent him to New Orleans at No. 7. Kiper now has him as the top defensive tackle in the class, ahead of Ole Miss’ Will Echoles, who moves up two spots to 14th.
Seven quarterbacks, and the order shifts
The board still holds seven quarterbacks, the same seven as before, but the order behind Mestemaker and Mensah changed. Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss slips one spot to seventh, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr drops from eighth to 10th and Missouri’s Austin Simmons goes from 10th to 12th. Texas’ Arch Manning stays 24th and Oregon’s Dante Moore stays 25th.
Mestemaker has thrown for at least 300 yards and two touchdowns in each of Oklahoma State’s last six games and has 41 completions of 20 or more yards, the most in the FBS. Kiper notes he does not turn 21 until January and has made only 22 career starts, “so there’s a lot of untapped potential.” Mensah leads the nation with an 81.4 percent completion rate and has 22 touchdown passes against one interception, and Kiper writes that Miami’s trip to Notre Dame on November 7 “is going to say a lot” about him because the Hurricanes have played a light schedule. That game is also a big test for Carr, who completed 55.1 percent of his passes with no touchdowns in the loss to BYU.
On Manning, Kiper’s view has not changed: the Texas quarterback is “too inconsistent, especially when it comes to accuracy and decision-making,” though the size, mobility and arm keep him in the top 25. Moore’s season is likely over after his September concussion, and Kiper says teams will want to see him healthy and may wonder whether he returns to school after playing just four games in 2026. In his positional rankings, both Manning and Moore are listed as just missing his top five quarterbacks.
Two Indiana receivers and a 6-foot-6 target
Indiana’s Charlie Becker is the biggest riser among players who were already ranked, going from 11th to eighth. He has 42 catches for 726 yards and eight touchdowns, and Kiper expects him to “test really well” at the combine. His teammate Nick Marsh, a Michigan State transfer who just turned 20, debuts at 16th with 34 catches for 610 yards and seven scores.
Rutgers’ KJ Duff enters at 17th. At 6-foot-6, Kiper calls him “a matchup nightmare” who can line up as a wideout, a move tight end or an H-back, and Duff has 45 catches for 774 yards and nine touchdowns. LSU tight end Trey’Dez Green, who missed three games with a leg injury, is the fourth newcomer at 23rd.
Iowa left tackle Trevor Lauck climbs eight spots to 15th and is now Kiper’s top tackle, ahead of LSU’s Jordan Seaton, who slips from 17th to 20th. Georgia linebacker Chris Cole drops from seventh to 11th, and Florida running back Jadan Baugh goes from 14th to 19th despite 13 rushing touchdowns.
Who fell off
Goosby, 21st on the October 15 board, is out of the top 25 after the knee injury he suffered against Ole Miss, though Kiper still ranks him as his third-best tackle. Texas receiver Cam Coleman, who was 12th, Alabama edge rusher Yhonzae Pierre, who was 18th, and Georgia cornerback Ellis Robinson IV, who was 22nd, also dropped out. Coleman and Pierre are listed as just missing the top five at their positions.
The draft runs April 29 to May 1 in Washington.
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