Reputable Analyst Has 2 Gophers in the Top 15 of the Loaded 2027 NFL Draft

Do the 2026 Gophers feature two top-15 players in next year's NFL Draft, including one in the top five?

CBS Sports' Mike Renner, who was formerly the lead draft analyst at Pro Football Focus, released a really, really early 2027 mock draft on Monday that has two Gophers stars being taken in the first 15 picks, including quarterback Drake Lindsey going No. 4 overall. The other Gopher going in the top 15 is NOT star edge rusher Anthony Smith, but instead offensive lineman Greg Johnson.

Don't adjust your screen, you read that correctly. In an insanely deep draft — it's already being talked about as one of the most loaded ever — Renner thinks the Gophers' QB is going to take a monumental leap and be one of the first prospects to hear their name called next April.

Or, perhaps, it's just a reach by a bad organization. After all, Renner does have the Cleveland Browns as the team selecting Lindsey with the No. 4 overall pick in the draft. Here is Renner explaining his shocking prediction:

"Drake Lindsey is an up-and-comer more people need to know about because of his certified rocket launcher for a right arm," wrote Renner. "He's right there with South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers for the strongest arm in college football. Unlike Sellers, Lindsey has shown the ability to throw with multiple speeds and layer passes beautifully over the middle. He'll need to improve his accuracy and pocket presence this year, but I like his chances of doing just that in Year 2 as a starter."

Lindsey has the size — 6-foot-5, 230 pounds — that NFL teams absolutely drool over. His "certified rocket launcher" of a right arm is also something teams covet. We've seen in the past that teams are willing to overlook a lack of big college production to select a quarterback with those traits. Look at the Bears taking Mitchell Trubisky for a recent example.

As Renner noted, if — and it's a massive if — Lindsey is going to make a leap, he's going to have to put up much bigger numbers and improve on his accuracy a bit. While he protected the ball with 18 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions in 2025, he completed 63.2% of his passes, which ranked 69th in the nation.

The best of the best included Ohio State's Julian Sayin (77%), Indiana's Fernando Mendoza (72%), and Oregon's Dante Moore (71.8%). Mendoza was the No. 1 pick in this year's draft, and Saying and Moore could be top-five picks next year.

While his completion percentage on short passes (0-9 yards) is fine at 79%, passes between 10-19 yards were only completed at a 53.9% clip, while balls thrown 20+ yards were only completed 26.5% of the time. That simply won't cut it in the NFL, much less the Big Ten.

Lindsey is also a bit of a statue. As NFL quarterbacks have shown the ability to extend plays, as pass rushers have only gotten better, Lindsey's limited mobility is going to be a sticking point for teams at the next level.

Meanwhile, Lindsey wasn't the only Gopher in Renner's mock. Guard Greg Johnson landed at No. 15 overall to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Renner said that Johnson is the "top returning guard in the country" in 2026.

"He's a well-built 325-pounder with experience at all five offensive line spots, though left guard is his best fit," Renner said.

In over 1,000 pass block snaps across the offensive line in his three collegiate seasons, Johnson has allowed just four sacks and 37 total pressures, according to PFF. Johnson had his best season last year, recording a career-high 80.1 PFF pass block grade and 73.4 PFF run block grade.

The dual top-15 picks would be an anomaly in Gophers history. The last time the Gophers program had a top-5 pick was 1950, when the Packers selected linebacker/center Clayton Tonnemaker with the fourth overall pick.

The Gophers have only had 12 players go higher than No. 15 in the draft, with the most recent coming in 1966, when the Packers selected guard/defensive tackle Gale Gillingham with the No. 13 pick.

Since the turn of the century, only three Gophers have been taken in the first round: Willie Middlebrooks (No. 24, 2001), Laurence Maroney (No. 21, 2006), and Rashod Bateman (No. 27, 2021).

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