The 2027 NFL Draft picture is coming into focus now that we are deep enough into the college football season. We have a good idea of who will be in the first-round conversation, and a handful of those prospects bring tremendous talent paired with major risk.

On the latest episode of Best Pod Available, my co-host Joe DeLeone and I dug into the 2027 prospects who could get general managers fired. That does not mean these players are going to be busts. They have the tools that NFL teams fall in love with, which makes them likely to be overdrafted. Some will become high-impact players, while others may never carve out a starting role.

Here is where I land on the riskiest names in the class.

The quarterbacks

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is the ultimate boom-or-bust prospect in this class. He has been objectively good over the last three games, with 10 total touchdowns and only one interception. Before that, he looked like his 2025 self: one good game, one bad game, one really bad game, then a solid one.

Sellers was far from perfect against Tennessee, one of the best defenses in college football. He still made game-changing plays with his arm and his legs, and better hands from his receivers would have changed the conversation around that performance.

At 6-3 and 245 pounds, he might be the best functional athlete I have ever evaluated at the position. If you ask me, he is a better athlete on the field than Anthony Richardson was. I also trust his passing film more because the sample size is so much larger.

The comparison to Richardson is coming, but it is not fair to either player. Richardson was a raw mystery box who barely played. By contrast, Sellers will have three full years as a starter. There is still some mystery to him in a good way, though. He has never played behind a good offensive line or with a reliable receiving corps.

If Sellers stacks performances like the ones against Florida and Tennessee, I think he still goes in the top 15. I would not take him in the top 10, even though somebody probably will.

The lows are still on film, and I do not believe he can start right away as a rookie. A team with a first-year head coach or an established starter would be the ideal landing spot. I am terrified of Sellers, but I just can’t quit him yet.

Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker is the passer I am most comfortable with among the potential top-five options. He walked on at North Texas and did not play quarterback in high school, but he is ascending while others have stalled or regressed. He has the requisite size and arm talent. Still, I would rather not throw him into the fire as a top-five pick because he needs more time to percolate.

Austin Simmons (Missouri) has the arm, frame, and athleticism to go early, but I would tell him not to declare. He would be a one-year starter, and I am a stickler for experience at the quarterback position.

The late bloomers: Zereoue Williams and Audavion Collins

Utah offensive tackle Zereoue Williams took over at left tackle after sitting behind Caleb Lomu and Spencer Fano. Many believe he could be the first offensive tackle off the board in 2027, and I am one of them. He is 6-7, somewhere between 315 and 330 pounds, with unreal core strength and refined technique. Offensive line coach Jordan Gross deserves credit there.

The catch is that Williams is a sixth-year senior. Late breakouts can look like a flash in the pan, and I made the point on the show this way: “He doesn’t get tested a lot in the Big 12. There’s not a lot of great pass rushers.” Dane Brugler from The Athletic said the same thing on our podcast a couple of weeks ago. Given the players he sat behind, the age-23 breakout does not bother me much.

Penn State defensive back Audavion Collins freaks me out. He is a fifth-year senior just now breaking out, and he is a legit 4.3-type athlete who is going to test extremely well. However, he has issues locating the ball and gets grabby downfield.

Is that a habit or a lack of game experience? I am not sure yet, and that guessing game is exactly what makes him risky.

The former 5-stars: Cam Coleman and Jordan Seaton

Texas wide receiver Cam Coleman has regressed. We expected a big jump with Arch Manning throwing to him. Instead, the receiver who made unreal catches at Auburn has dropped several on-target deep balls, including a wide-open bomb that Manning delivered under pressure. Coleman got hurt trying to haul in a more difficult catch, which is at least forgivable.

The thought of Cam Coleman is cooler than Cam Coleman right now. He has a basketball player’s leaping ability and a massive catch radius, but he does not create consistent separation or win after the catch. He will either be A.J. Green or Quentin Johnston, with little in-between ground. I would recommend he go back to school, but I think he declares.

LSU offensive tackle Jordan Seaton picked the wrong program to start his career at Colorado, where he was as raw as it gets physically. He got lean this offseason, but now the question is whether he lost too much mass to handle power.

The tape has been up and down, with a great showing against Clemson and a disappointing one against Ole Miss. My comp for him is Paris Johnson Jr. There is an All-Pro version of him, and there is a version that leaves you wanting more.

Seaton was reportedly set on this being his last college season. These players are going to be controversial to analyze all the way to April, and the general managers who take them will be betting their jobs on it.