These seven teams are most likely to need a QB in the 2027 NFL Draft -- and the timing may be perfect
What the 2026 NFL Draft class lacked in quarterback talent, the 2027 crop of prospects promises to make up for . With Arch Manning, Dante Moore and a host of other exciting arms set to make the leap from college next spring, NFL teams in need of a franchise signal-caller should view next year's draft as the jackpot. Only the Las Vegas Raiders took a potential plug-and-play starter in the 2026 NFL Draft, and even then, Fernando Mendoza might have to wait at least a few games behind Kirk Cousins . Next year, more than just a couple of teams could have starting jobs available for rookies. Some of those squads may already have the answer to their problems on their roster. The Miami Dolphins , for instance, could be set for the foreseeable future with Malik Willis on board as a breakout candidate. Others are in for a long year on offense and will enter the draft in desperate search of a cornerstone around which to build their rosters in 2027 and beyond. Here are seven teams that might be in the market for a quarterback in the 2027 draft, where they could pick in the draft order and which player on their roster has a chance to shake up those plans. The situation: The gap between the Cardinals and the rest of football's best division is so wide that moving on from Kyler Murray made all the sense in the world. This is the right time for Arizona to embrace a rebuild. The team reportedly informed Jacoby Brissett that he will handle starting duties, but he wants to be paid as such and continues to skip voluntary workouts in search of a new contract. Given that Arizona may be the likeliest team to hunt for a new quarterback in the next draft and already has a potential next man up in 2026 draftee Carson Beck , it would behoove the franchise to avoid paying Brissett starter money beyond this fall. The floor and ceiling: Brissett started 12 games last year and went 1-11, albeit with respectable stats. Given that he just oversaw such a miserable season and that the NFC West should be just as tough in 2026, both the floor and ceiling are tremendously low for Arizona. This team might be the safest bet to land the No. 1 pick. The veteran who could change the plan: Neither Brissett nor Gardner Minshew has secured a long-term starting job at any previous stop. It is Brissett's role for now, though, and to his credit, he has been serviceable before. Believe it or not, he actually stands as the NFL's all-time career leader in interception percentage at a minuscule 1.4%. However, that will not be enough to convince Arizona he is anything more than a short-term bridge to whomever it selects early in the draft. The situation: The revolving door spins back around this year with the chance of another shake-up in the starting group. Deshaun Watson will get a shot at the job and only has to beat out a couple of second-year players who struggled to latch onto the role in their rookie seasons: Shedeur Sanders and Dillon Gabriel . Taylen Green arrived via the draft as a sixth-round pick and is the only fresh face in the room -- one whose athleticism is tantalizing but likely not enough on its own to reasonably fight for a spot in the lineup unless things truly go haywire. The floor and ceiling: The defense is ready to compete for a playoff berth, so all the Browns need from their offense is competence. If Watson revitalizes his career following a season lost to a torn Achilles, or if one of Sanders and Gabriel takes the next step, this will be a respectable team. That's a major "if," however. Another year of mediocre quarterbacking likely leaves Cleveland at the bottom of the AFC North and searching for a franchise quarterback inside the top 10 yet again. The veteran who could change the plan: Watson is not guaranteed to land the job, but he will get every chance to return to the top of the depth chart and make his contract look slightly less atrocious. It has been six years, an Achilles tear and an off-field scandal since Watson last played a [... truncated ...]
