Trinidad Chambliss is forcing the 2027 NFL Draft conversation to shift, at least for some folks in the industry.

The Ole Miss quarterback delivered another dominant performance in Week 3 against LSU, and the question is no longer whether he belongs in the first round. The question is whether he belongs in the top 5.

That debate, along with evaluations of Ole Miss defensive tackle Will Echoles, Mississippi State quarterback Kamario Taylor, and South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers, dominated the latest episode of the Best Pod Available podcast with my fellow A to Z Sports colleague Joe DeLeone and I.

The case for and against Chambliss in the top 5

I acknowledged the factors working against Chambliss at the top of the draft. His arm strength, while solid for his size, projects as middle-of-the-pack NFL arm talent rather than upper quartile.

His style toes the line between reckless and magic, with some decisions that raise sustainability questions at the professional level. He’s also an older prospect who will be 25 before his first NFL snap.

That said, I do believe that I am more comfortable with Chambliss as a first-round quarterback than Miami’s Darian Mensah right now. He also pushed back on the idea that size is the primary concern, noting it was the third factor he listed rather than the first.

He’s a shorter quarterback, but the thing that overcompensate for it that I’m not worried about is that he has a stronger build. Chambliss is not easy to take down in the pocket. But the thing I love, and this is usually the limitation with some shorter quarterbacks at times, he is fearless attacking the middle of the field.

DeLeone’s argument centered on production and consistency.

Chambliss has kept Ole Miss in every game he has played, delivering an incredible performance each time. DeLeone challenged the tendency to emphasize tool limitations over tangible playmaking ability and pointed to the Kyler Murray and Bryce Young comparisons as evidence that undersized quarterbacks can warrant top-5 selections.

I found the Bryce Young comparison most compelling. Chambliss has a stronger arm and is a better athlete than Young, whose Alabama film was strong but whose tools were limited. If Young could go first overall with that profile, I admit there is at least some legitimacy to the argument that Chambliss belongs in the top-5 conversation.

Where I drew the line was on the ceiling.

If Chambliss hits his best-case outcome in the NFL and projects as somewhere between the 12th and 20th best quarterback, and I would not spend a top-5 pick on that. DeLeone countered that the Seahawks won a Super Bowl with Sam Darnold, a quarterback who is not a top-12 signal caller, and that finding a starting-caliber quarterback at pick 5 is still a positive outcome.

Will Echoles announces himself as DT1

I admittedly steered the conversation toward the best player on the field in the Ole Miss-LSU game, and it was not Chambliss.

Ole Miss defensive tackle Will Echoles was a monster. The 6-2.5, 309-pound interior lineman, who just turned 20 years old, recorded a sack and multiple pressures against LSU. I also noted that No. 67, LSU’s left guard, will have nightmares about the performance for a long, long time.

I thought Echoles was better than people gave him credit for in the first two games and that the LSU tape is the game to watch if you want to evaluate his legitimacy as DT1 in the 2027 NFL Draft. There is a world where Echoles ends up going as high as pick 8 or 9 because he has flashed the complete package of power, hand usage, and explosiveness to finish.

Kamario Taylor outshines LaNorris Sellers

The Mississippi State-South Carolina matchup provided a direct comparison between two electric quarterback prospects.

Kamario Taylor, a 2028 draft-eligible true sophomore, outperformed Sellers despite a shaky start. Taylor’s deep ball touch was awesome, and the ball looks like a lightly tossed ping pong ball leaving his hand before shooting out with precision. That natural layering on deep throws separates Taylor from what Sellers showed two years ago.

Asked where he would draft Taylor if the quarterback were eligible for the 2027 NFL Draft, DeLeone said he would take him over Arch Manning. I do not push back.

Sellers, meanwhile, continued a troubling trend. Two bad interceptions marred his performance, and I described the quarterback as gun-shy and late on his reads. Rather than playing with the arrogance of a Chambliss, Sellers appears afraid to let it rip, which paradoxically leads to worse decisions.

DeLeone placed the blame squarely on South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer and the revolving door of offensive coaching Sellers has endured. With a brutal schedule ahead featuring Alabama, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Georgia, he does not see the Gamecocks finishing strong and questioned whether Beamer will survive the season.

For Sellers, the conversation has shifted to whether he should transfer with one year of eligibility remaining or declare for the draft and develop behind an NFL quarterback.

I feel like we’re getting to the point where it’s now or never for Sellers. And maybe it just isn’t going to happen.