The Miami Hurricanes’ 2027 NFL Draft class promises to be a loaded group, especially on the defensive side of the football.

From a dominant interior defensive line pairing to intriguing offensive skill players, there are top-shelf names, mid-round gems, and sleepers worth tracking as the 2026 college football season approaches. After a recent appearance on the Miami Huddlecast, hosted by former Hurricane Kelvin Harris, I had the chance to break down the full scope of Miami’s draft-eligible talent. Here is everything you need to know about the key prospects.

Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott anchor a dominant interior

The conversation starts and ends with the interior defensive line, where the pairing of Ahmad Moten and Justin Scott is arguably the best defensive tackle duo in all of college football. These two are in very different situations as draft prospects, though.

Moten is a one-gap penetrator, a three-technique in the truest form. He’s not necessarily going to be a great player working against the point of attack, but he can do all the penetration things you need in an attack-style defense. Had he entered the 2026 NFL Draft, I probably think he would have gone somewhere in the second round. With a big season and back-to-back years of production leading this Miami defense, the first round is certainly a massive possibility.

Scott is the complete opposite in terms of his versatility. At 6-4, 300-plus pounds with long arms, the former five-star recruit can profile anywhere from a shade nose all the way out to a 4-I alignment. He has some gap penetration ability, but in comparison to Moten, Scott is much more consistent at the point of attack with the size and power profile to anchor. He was only a first-year starter last season as a sophomore, so going into his junior year, there’s anticipation that Scott takes a massive step forward. In a deep defensive tackle class, you could argue he has as much upside as anyone.

Damon Wilson II and OJ Frederique round out the defensive prospects

Miami also landed a huge transfer portal addition this offseason in Damon Wilson II, formerly of Georgia, who spent the 2025 season at Missouri as one of the top sack artists in college football.

I’m admittedly a little bit lower on Wilson than the consensus. He has a good get-off and some natural pop in his lower half, giving him speed-to-power potential. I just think he’s a little tight, doesn’t corner incredibly well, and sits somewhere in that solid-to-sufficient range athletically. He profiles more as a mid-round pick, maybe borderline top 100. He’s a role player at the NFL level with developmental upside to become a solid starter, but I don’t see a high-round draft pick.

Cornerback OJ Frederique enters his junior season as a mainstay in the secondary. He has good press-man technique, the length, physicality, and tenaciousness to compete at the line of scrimmage and at the catch point. He has been a little up and down in terms of his comfort down the field and can be grabby at times. His freshman film was actually a bit more consistent than his sophomore tape, so you hope for a nice jump heading into next season. There’s starter-caliber upside if his technique becomes more reliable.

Darian Mensah leads the offensive draft hopefuls

On the offensive side, quarterback Darian Mensah is the headliner after transferring from Duke, where he played following his first two college seasons at Tulane.

Mensah is a good touch thrower who can operate at all three levels of the field and throws a beautiful deep ball. My one hangup is that in terms of pure arm juice, particularly at the intermediate level against tighter NFL windows, the consistency could waver. He’s probably somewhere in that third-to-fourth-round bubble right now. If he has a huge season, though, he could rise into the top two rounds. Miami has seen back-to-back quarterbacks ascend in recent years with Cam Ward’s rise to the No. 1 overall pick and Carson Beck’s climb to the 64th or 65th overall selection.

I think Mensah is poised to put up massive numbers, probably shadowing a Cam Ward-level statistical season, even if his traits won’t make him quite as attractive as Ward was.

Running back Mark Fletcher Jr. has earned a deep appreciation from me. He’s a big, physical downhill runner with good initial explosiveness. I don’t think he’s a great change-of-direction athlete, which may limit his scheme fit, but he runs with more patience and tempo than you’d expect for his size. I do think he has enough diversity to potentially be a top-100 pick.

The last name to watch is wide receiver Cooper Barkate, who transferred from Duke and was Mensah’s top target last season with over 1,000 receiving yards. The NFL really likes him. There’s nothing flashy about his game, but he understands how to set up routes and get in and out of breaks at an efficient level.

With so much defensive attention going toward sophomore Malachi Tony next season, Barkate is poised for a huge year and has a legitimate shot at going in the top 100.