This past NFL Draft saw Minnesota’s streak of six consecutive drafts with someone drafted as a 1st or 2nd round pick come to an end. There wasn’t a Gopher taken in the draft until Deven Eastern was selected by Seattle in the 7th round.
This is partially because the Gophers are returning a fair amount of their roster from last year, including some of their best players. With significant contributors returning to Huntington Bank Stadium, will the Gophers have more players drafted in the 2027 Draft? And will any of them be drafted in the first or second day of the draft?
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Projecting future draft picks is certainly more art than science. It was pretty obvious that Daniel Faalele was destined to hear his name called. Rashod Bateman fit the part and after a little bit of time to develop, so did Antoine Winfield Jr, John-Michael Schmitz and Laurence Maroney (to cherry-pick a few names). Others had tremendous promise with great collegiate careers that didn’t translate to the NFL. Think MarQueise Gray.
And then you have the Todd McShay prediction that Mitch Leidner was going to be a 2017 first-round draft pick, sandwiched between Christian McCaffery and Dalvin Cook. He ended up as an undrafted free agent who spent about two weeks with the Vikings before being cut.
And in recent weeks, there have been some lofty projections for Drake Lindsey. Mike Renner of CBS Sports projected that Drake Lindsey will be the 4th overall player taken in the 2027 NFL Draft. The third quarterback taken after Arch Manning and Dante Moore. Then, about a week later, ESPN’s Jordan Reid included Lindsey on his list of top QB prospects to know for the 2027 Draft. On this list, Lindsey was listed in the “Best of the Rest” grouping after 10 names you should know as the top prospects. Did Reid include Lindsey on his own? Or did he make sure to at least include the Gopher’s quarterback after seeing Renner place him so high?
More on Lindsey in a bit, but this did get me thinking about which current Gophers are going to be on NFL radars as we head into the 2026 season and 2027 Draft.
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Kerry Brown – If I had to pick one guy who I think has the best chance to be a 1st or 2nd round pick, it would be Brown. There has been a lot of attention on the position of safety for the Gophers in recent years, but most of that attention has been paid to Koi Perich. But quietly, Brown was really the team’s best safety. In both his freshman and sophomore seasons, he recorded 4 pass breakups and 2 picks while finishing among the leaders in tackles. With another solid, consistent season, he will certainly be talked about to leave early and be drafted. With a standout season, he will rocket up draft boards.
Greg Johnson – It is very rare for an offensive lineman to see significant action as a true freshman, but Johnson started two games during his true freshman season. Since then, he started 13 games as a sophomore and 13 games as a junior. He is versatile, starting at all three positions and he has been reliable, never missing a game due to injury. Johnson was also listed as a first-round pick in Renner’s early mock draft. Has he been dominant enough that NFL teams will also value him as an early-round pick? The entire Gopher offensive line improving with Johnson leading, would go a long way towards hearing his name called early.
Drake Lindsey – Imagine a world where Lindsey proves himself to be worthy of being the 4th overall pick next spring. For that to happen, he would need an incredible sophomore season, and it would be a special one for the team. He certainly has the ideal size with a 6’5”, 230-pound frame. He has great arm strength. And he has a very nice season starting in the Big Ten as a freshman. He finished with a 3:1 TD-to-interception ratio and led the team to eight wins. I think two things will have to happen for him to be considered a first-round pick. One, the Gopher offense will have to open things up a little more. Receivers need to get open downfield, and route combinations need to help facilitate that and the coaching staff needs to let Lindsey cook. And then secondly, Lindsey has to deliver. Improve his completion %, rack up more yards by showing off the arm-strength downfield and making great decisions.
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Anthony Smith – This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think Smith is more likely to be a 3rd or 4th round pick next spring. He had a monster season for the Gopher defense in 2025, leading the Big Ten in sacks and we should all be very excited that he’s returning for another year. But considering that teams factor in age, Smith is likely going to have replicate last year’s production to move up in the draft – maybe improve. One interesting subplot here might be Smith moving inside on passing downs, making him a little more versatile, and perhaps more valuable. He’s about 30 lbs heavier than most of the other edge players and could possibly be dangerous as an interior pass-rusher in certain situations.
Nathan Roy – after starting 12 games at left tackle as a redshirt freshman for a Big Ten program, I absolutely expect to see Roy’s name on NFL draft boards. Maybe not this year, but most likely the following. With a good season, Roy could easily see his name moving to the early rounds. Demonstrated improvement from Roy and he is going to be a valuable commodity.
John Nestor – Six interceptions last year to go with six TFLs and 50 tackles is going to put Nestor on radars heading into his senior season. I would be surprised to see Nestor move up draft boards to be a pick in the first three rounds, but with another productive season, I see him hearing name called.
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Darius Taylor – Taylor has one thing that makes him incredibly valuable to NFL teams and he has one thing that is going to scare a lot of teams off. First off, he is tremendous at catching the ball out of the backfield. In today’s NFL, that is a trait that will give him an opportunity. But his history of injuries is going to keep him from hearing his name earlier. As Gopher fans, we love DT. But if you were to poll the rest of the league, I suspect he would not rank in the top half amoung running backs in the league. He has one season to stay healthy and rack up yards.
Maverick Baranowski – This is purely on production. Baranowski is not going to blow away NFL teams with his agility or athletic ability. And in today’s NFL, linebackers are not as valued as they were a decade ago (or more). But Baranowski has linebacker traits like toughness, the ability to quickly disect plays and then he makes plays. Another strong season and he may hear his name drafted.
Bennett Warren – Redshirt sophomore transfer from Tennessee who is going to have every opportunity to start at RT for the Gophers this season. He has tremendous potential that has not yet emerged, but it is there.
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Emmanual Karmo – As a true freshman last season, Karmo flashed his own potential. A very athletic linebacker who showed some real skill in coverage. He reminds me of a smaller version of De’Vondre Campbell, who played nine seasons in the NFL. Karmo doesn’t have his size, but he has similar athleticism.
Hayden Moore – digging deeper now, into the freshman class, but Moore has been turning heads since arriving on campus in January.
Nate Cleveland – This is the next Baranowski, but Cleveland is going to have more athlecism. Watch him have a breakout sophomore season (along with Karmo) and
There is a reasonable chance that Minnesota will resume having at least A player drafted in the first two rounds when NFL teams are making their picks next April. Is it going to be Drake Lindsey after a phenominal sophomore season? I’m not holding my breath for that to happen, but there is some Sunday talent on this roster. Looking forward to seeing who earns it.
