Notre Dame enters Saturday’s game against heavy underdog Boston College as the No. 5 team in the College Football Playoff Rankings, and No. 3 according to the Associated Press poll, after the Fighting Irish’s season-defining win over the Miami Hurricanes last week.
So why have very few experts seen Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr as a potential No. 1 draft pick? In fact, despite the clear need of several NFL teams for a new QB, none have. Until now.
Notre Dame QB Carr landed at No. 1 overall to the New York Jets in a new 2027 NFL mock draft this week, the first time he has been picked to be taken there.
No other major projection ranks Carr first, and with NFL scouts guessing he stays in South Bend for 2027, the pick opens a question about how high he can climb.
The projection by Bill Sparks of Spark Scouting has the Jets shipping the fourth and sixth picks to the Los Angeles Chargers to move up for Carr. Sparks likens Carr to Mac Jones — a passer who wins with accuracy, anticipation and timing, not raw physical tools. New York’s heavy spending on its offensive line, Sparks reasons, sets up a pocket quarterback to succeed there.
Jets Projection Puts Carr Ahead of the Consensus
Sparks stands alone. Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith holds the top spot in most first-round forecasts, including the one from Mike Renner of CBS Sports, who sends Smith to the Chargers and Carr to the Jets at No. 4. Renner adds that Carr may not enter the draft at all.
Among quarterbacks, Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker leads the field. Mestemaker collected 17 votes as the first passer off the board in ESPN’s midseason survey of 25 scouts and executives. Carr finished second with four. Miami’s Darian Mensah drew three and Oregon’s Dante Moore one, while Texas’ Arch Manning — the preseason headliner — got none.
Carr has closed some of that distance since. He now ranks as the second-best quarterback in the class behind Mestemaker, according to Gilberto Manzano of Sports Illustrated.
Whether he’s available in April is another matter. Carr “already looks like an NFL starter,” Dane Brugler of The Athletic reported, as quoted by Bleacher Report. The scouts who gave Brugler that assessment also guessed that Carr plays another season at Notre Dame.
Curtis Jason “C.J.” Carr, 21, grew up in Saline, Michigan, inside Michigan football royalty. His grandfather Lloyd Carr coached the Wolverines to the 1997 national championship — and made a starter out of a third-string quarterback named Tom Brady — and his father, Jason, played quarterback there, according to The Sporting News.
His other grandfather, Tom Curtis, was an All-American safety at Michigan. Carr’s younger brother Chad died of brain cancer in 2015 at age 5.
A four-star recruit, Carr picked Notre Dame. After a redshirt year in 2024, he threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns with six interceptions in 2025. Through nine games this season he has 2,168 yards and 21 touchdowns against one interception.
Notre Dame Chases C.J. Carr Heisman and a Title
Carr’s 319 yards and three touchdowns in the 31-24 win over then-No. 1 Miami on Nov. 7 reset the Heisman Trophy race.
“That’s who C.J. Carr is, man,” Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said, as quoted by The Associated Press. Freeman meant his quarterback’s preparation, which the coach said has matched a starter’s since Carr arrived on campus.
FanDuel now lists Carr as the Heisman favorite at +150, ahead of Mensah and Smith at +320 each. No Notre Dame player has won the award since Tim Brown in 1987. The Irish finish against Boston College, SMU and Syracuse and, as an independent, play no conference championship game.
The team’s stakes run higher. Notre Dame reached the national championship game in January 2025 and lost to Ohio State. Last season the Irish went 10-2 and became the first team left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff when the selection committee moved Miami past them on the final day. Notre Dame then declined a bowl bid.
This year’s Irish are 8-1, the lone loss coming at BYU, and climbed to No. 5 in the Nov. 10 playoff rankings. FanDuel prices Notre Dame at -20000 to make the playoff field and +380 to win the national championship. Only Georgia has shorter title odds at BetMGM.
Carr has until January to decide whether any NFL team gets the chance to draft him.
Notre Dame QB C.J. Carr Gets Unusual 2027 NFL Draft Prediction After Miami Win