The month of August has passed. Training camps are over, 53-man rosters have been finalized, and practice squads are set. In a little over a week the NFL will be back in action as the regular season opens with the New England Patriots at the Seattle Seahawks on Wednesday, September 9. However, before we have any real NFL action, college football will open this weekend with a bang.
Now I know this isn’t the NFL and it doesn’t directly impact your fantasy football teams, but even if you aren’t the biggest college football fan this is exciting news. For starters, some form of real football is back! In addition, the research for any die-hard dynasty fantasy football player starts now. Starting your research early can’t hurt, so as the college football season gets underway, it’s always a good idea to keep an eye on players who are expected to perform well while continuing to monitor players who could outperform expectations.
The 2027 NFL Draft is projected to be loaded with elite talent and plenty of depth for your dynasty roster. Below is a list of the top players in college football to keep an eye on throughout this season.
Quarterbacks:
1. Arch Manning, Texas
2. Dante Moore, Oregon
3. Julian Sayin, Ohio State
4. C.J. Carr, Notre Dame
5. Darian Mensah, Miami
6. Jayden Maiava, USC
7. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
8. Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
9. Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
10. Josh Hoover, Indiana
Running Backs:
1. Ahmad Hardy, Missouri
2. Kewan Lacy, Ole Miss
3. Jadan Baugh, Florida
4. Nate Frazier, Georgia
5. Isaac Brown, Louisville
6. Mark Fletcher Jr., Miami
7. LJ Martin, BYU
8. Antwan Raymond, Rutgers
9. Hollywood Smothers, Texas
10. Justice Haynes, Georgia Tech
Wide Receivers:
1. Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State
2. Cam Coleman, Texas
3. Ryan Coleman-Williams, Alabama
4. Charlie Becker, Indiana
5. Nick Marsh, Indiana
6. Bryant Wesco Jr., Clemson
7. K.J. Duff, Rutgers
8. Mario Craver, Texas A&M
9. Ryan Wingo, Texas
10. Duce Robinson, Florida State
11. Omarion Miller, Arizona State
12. T.J. Moore, Clemson
13. Isaiah Sategna III, Oklahoma
14. Eugene Wilson III, LSU
15. Jayce Brown, LSU
16. Cooper Barkate, Miami
17. Nyck Harbor, South Carolina
18. Danny Scudero, Colorado
19. Isiah Horton, Texas A&M
20. Eric Singleton Jr., Florida
Tight Ends:
1. Trey’Dez Green, LSU
2. Jamari Johnson, Oregon
3. DJ Vonnahme, Iowa
4. Terrance Carter Jr., Texas Tech
5. Dorian Thomas, Cal
I welcome you to use this initial list as a guide, but just because these are the top players going into the season, it doesn’t mean that some of these names may fall while others rise. While dynasty managers have already been trying to acquire picks in this class because of the amount of talent it is expected to produce, one name in particular has captured everyone’s attention.
Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith from Ohio State has dominated the college football scene since he stepped onto the field as a freshman. Regardless of your league format (Superflex or 1QB), I currently expect him to be one of the top candidates for the 1.01 pick in next year’s rookie drafts, as long as he doesn’t hit an unexpected decline this season.
However, the talent doesn’t end there. This class contains several receivers, running backs and quarterbacks with high potential. If you are a rebuilding team, I encourage you to try to stack up picks in this class if you haven’t already done so.
This is not by any means a final list of rankings for the class of 2027. This list is just meant to be a jumping-off point. I will continue to analyze these players, along with the rest of the college football landscape, throughout the season. Stay tuned for updated rankings as the season progresses.
Check out more dynasty fantasy football related articles here.
Forged For Football is dedicated to helping dynasty fantasy managers build sustainable championship teams through disciplined strategy and long-term roster construction.
