Steelers Now
The 2027 NFL Draft quarterback class has already garnered plenty of hype, and after watching roughly a dozen prospects, it’s easy to see why. While I would stop short of using the phrase “generational,” I feel considerably better about this crop of talent compared to last year’s 2026 NFL Draft group during summer scouting. After watching a handful of games of each player, two finished with first-round grades, while another four fell into the day-two bucket.
Will the Pittsburgh Steelers join the arms race in an attempt to find their next franchise quarterback to lead them out of this middle-ground purgatory? Or will one of the youngsters, Drew Allar or Will Howard, prove enough this season to cause the organization to bypass that route altogether? Only time will tell.
Of course, there will be plenty of unexpected surprises—we just witnessed Ty Simpson essentially come out of nowhere to be selected 13th overall months later.
Today, we’ll be diving into the scouting reports of some of the skilled passers in the country. One final housekeeping tidbit before we get rolling: Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Drew Mestemaker from Oklahoma State feel more likely to be in the 2028 NFL Draft than this upcoming one (for now, at least). Welcome to draft season.
It’s true that Arch Manning didn’t get off to a hot start in his first campaign as the starter in Austin, but he showed impressive mental toughness to right the ship amidst a litany of criticism. He’s a modern-day prototype for this position, standing 6-foot-4, weighing in around 230 pounds, with a strong arm and excellent overall athleticism.
His super-skill is his innate ability to navigate a muddy pocket: there are plenty of stick-slide-climb throws on tape that show off his spatial awareness and outstanding agility while also possessing the arm talent to make difficult throws off-platform. He plays with the type of rhythm and timing that I really appreciate from a quarterback, shreds zone coverage looks with clean post-snap processing, and is a naturally aggressive player that’s eager to push the ball into tight windows down the field.
His NFL bloodlines are an obvious bonus, but he’s not a carbon copy of the last generation. Unlike his uncles Peyton and Eli, Arch’s mobility is something that defenses have to account for at all times, whether that’s him extending plays outside the pocket or on designed runs in critical situations. The only thing preventing Manning from blue-chip status right now is just that he’s not nearly as precise as he needs to be with his overall ball location, and there are too many scattershot moments in the underneath, quick game area in particular. His footwork can be a bit wonky, and he needs to get aligned to his target with more consistency. With that being said, the competitive toughness is just off the charts with this kid. From both a mental and physical perspective, there are a ton of reasons to buy into the...
