US LBM Coaches Poll No. 2 Notre Dame has plenty of talent this season that’s worthy enough to get their name called at the 2027 NFL draft.
PFF College recently unveiled its first mock NFL draft of the season – and four Fighting Irish standouts have made the cut in the first-round projections.
Gordon McGuinness of PFF College noted in his report that the Los Angeles Chargers will pick cornerback Leonard Moore second overall.
Moore has eight tackles and four pass deflections so far this season.
“The Chargers (could) grab arguably the best defensive prospect in the draft in Moore,” McGuinness said. “The Notre Dame standout has allowed just six receptions across 130 coverage snaps this season.”
Quarterback CJ Carr comes in as a projected ninth overall
selection by the New York Jets. Through six games, Carr has completed 70.8% of his passes for 1,378 yards, 16 touchdowns and a 186.7 QB rating.
“With three first-round picks, it’s hard for the Jets to pass up the opportunity to select a quarterback with one of them,” McGuinness said. “Carr has enjoyed an incredible start to the 2026 season, earning a 91.2 PFF passing grade and producing a 7.9% big-time throw rate compared to a 2.5% turnover-worthy play rate.”
Safety Brauntae Johnson tabbed as the No. 27 pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Despite not playing since Notre Dame’s season opener against Wisconsin due to a foot injury, McGuinness is confident that Johnson is still a first-round selection.
“He was excellent in 2025, though, earning an 82.8 PFF grade and missing just two of his 46 attempted solo tackles,” McGuinness added.
Lastly, McGuinness has linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa as the 30th pick by the Minnesota Vikings. Viliamu-Asa has missed a couple of games with injuries, but the junior has 13 tackles and an interception through four games.
“I’m not sure there’s a fit I love more in this mock draft than putting Viliamu-Asa in a Brian Flores (Vikings’) defense,” McGuinness said. “He has missed just 7.7% of his attempted tackles, earned a 91.2 PFF run-defense grade and proven to be an effective blitzer, generating eight pressures on 18 pass-rushing snaps so far this season.”
1. TEN: WR Jeremiah Smith
— PFF College (@PFF_College) October 14, 2026
8. WAS: WR Cam Coleman
20. LV: WR Nick Marsh
PFF’s Latest 2026 1st Round Mock Draft⬇️https://t.co/wLaspDQJXh
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Four Notre Dame standouts get nod for PFF College's mock ‘27 NFL draft
