Breer: Teams Already Eyeing 2027

Albert Breer brought the kind of forward calendar that rearranges how teams approach the current draft. The 2027 quarterback class.

His framing was careful. Three years ago, heading into the 2024 cycle, we already knew Caleb Williams was a top-five pick and Drake Maye was a top-five pick. Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix, JJ McCarthy, and Bo Nix played their way into range. The 2027 class does not have a consensus Caleb-or-Drake yet. What it has is volume.

Breer said he could rattle off eleven or twelve names with a shot at the first round. Dante Moore is the most accomplished, closest thing to a lock. Arch Manning. CJ Carr. Julian Sayin. Nico Iamaleava. Brendan Sorsby. The list keeps going. Not all twelve will hit. But with that many names, four or five probably do, and that is the math teams are running.

The teams he flagged as already looking at 2027: the Dolphins, kicking the can on quarterback decisions pending Malik Willis' development. The Browns. The Cardinals. The Jets. Organizations weighing whether keeping powder dry is smarter than reaching now.

Breer also pointed to the non-quarterback prototypes in 2027 that make picking high that year appealing regardless. Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State at receiver. Leonard Moore, the Notre Dame corner. Collins Simmons at Texas. Dylan Stewart at South Carolina at edge. Even if the quarterback class is less top-heavy than advertised, a high pick in 2027 still gets you a blue-chip player at a premium position.

The implication for the current draft: some teams are already adjusting their urgency at quarterback. The temptation to reach for QB4 or QB5 this year is lower if the board twelve months from now looks like the one Breer just laid out.

For the Dolphins, the Browns, the Cardinals, the Jets, the calculation is simple. Survive 2025. Plan around 2027.

The draft is never just about this year's board. It is about the one after it, and sometimes the one after that.