2027 NFL Draft Tracker: Minnesota Gophers
All Access Football examines the top 2027 draft-eligible prospects from the Minnesota Gophers.
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2027 NFL DRAFT TRACKER: MINNESOTA GOPHERS
Location: Minneapolis, MN || Conference: B1G || Head Coach: PJ Fleck (10 Years: 66-44; Career: 96-66) || NFL Draft Picks Under Fleck: 20 (2.0 per year) || First Round Picks Under Fleck: 1 || Number of 2026 NFL Draft Picks: 1 || Gophers in NFL: 23 (as of 6/08/26)
Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck has established himself as one of the top head coaches in college football. Known for being a well-coached, highly competitive program, Fleck has guided the Gophers to an impressive 7-0 record in bowl games during his past decade at the helm. With an expanded College Football Playoff format, the school poses as a dark horse candidate to sneak in.
Surprisingly, Minnesota had just one player chosen in the 2026 NFL Draft (Deven Eastern Rd7-Seahawks). The previous year, the school saw three players selected during the 2025 NFL Draft. During the 2020 NFL Draft, Fleck produced a draft class that featured five players chosen. There is a very good chance that the Gophers could match, or exceed that total for the 2027 NFL Draft.
The offense will be guided by quarterback Drake Lindsey, who enters his second season as the starter and veteran running back Darius Taylor (pic: Minnesota Athletics). Both prospects project as mid-to-late round draft targets. On defense, the alluring size and athleticism of pass-rusher Anthony Smith could make him the highest rated player from the Gophers.
We have ranked the top 15 draft-eligible prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft from the Minnesota Gophers program below. Be sure to bookmark this page, as we will expand, update and add scouting reports throughout the year. Keep it locked to AAF for more B1G NFL Draft Tracker previews throughout the week.
B1G DRAFT TRACKER: ILL | IND | IA | MAR | MI | MSU || SEC DRAFT TRACKER: ALA | ARK | AUB | FLA | UGA | UK | LSU | MISS | MSU | MU | OU | SC | TAMU | TEN | TEX | VAN
BIG BOARD: TOP 100 | QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG | C | DT | ER | LB | CB | S | ST
PLAYER | POS | YEAR | # | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | FORTY | HOMETOWN
Anthony Smith, ER, rSr, #0, 6060, 279, 4.75e, Shippensburg, PA (Scouting Report)
Greg Johnson, DT, Sr, #65, 6064, 327, 5.15e, Prior Lake, MN
Darius Taylor, RB, Sr, #1, 5112, 215, 4.52e, Detroit, MI
