2027 Draft Radar: Jayden Maiava – Quarterback
The 2026 NFL season may just be beginning and the Minnesota Vikings have Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy and Carson Wentz in the quarterback room, but that shouldn’t stop Minnesota fans from keeping an eye on the 2027 quarterback class.
One name that deserves to be circled early is USC quarterback Jayden Maiava.
Maiava, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound quarterback from Palolo, Hawaii, has taken an interesting path to becoming one of the more intriguing quarterback prospects in college football. He started his career at UNLV before transferring to USC, and every stop along the way has shown another piece of what could eventually make him an NFL quarterback.
From UNLV Freshman to NFL Prospect
Maiava first broke onto the national radar during the 2023 season at UNLV.
When the Mountain West announced its postseason awards, Maiava had thrown for 2,626 yards and 14 touchdowns. By the end of the season, however, he had pushed those numbers to 3,085 passing yards, 17 passing touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while completing 63.5% of his passes.
He wasn’t just a pocket passer, either. Maiava added 277 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns, helping UNLV finish 9-5 and reach the Mountain West Championship Game for the first time in program history.
The accolades started piling up immediately.
Maiava was named the 2023 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, College Football Network Freshman Quarterback of the Year, Second-Team All-Mountain West and Second-Team Phil Steele All-Mountain West. He also set a Mountain West record by earning Freshman of the Week five times.
That is a pretty impressive résumé for your first real season playing college football.
Enter Lincoln Riley
Following that breakout season, Maiava transferred to USC and landed with Lincoln Riley.
For Vikings fans, the easiest comparison might be to think of Riley as the college version of Kevin O’Connell when it comes to quarterback development.
Riley has worked with Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and Caleb Williams. Mayfield, Murray and Williams all won Heisman Trophies under Riley, and all three eventually became No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks. Hurts finished second in Heisman voting during his season at Oklahoma.
So when we’re evaluating Maiava, his coaching matters.
He is spending multiple seasons inside one of the most quarterback-friendly offensive systems in college football.
Taking Over USC
Maiava began the 2024 season behind Miller Moss but eventually took over USC’s offense for the final four games.
His first start came against Nebraska, and Maiava immediately showed why Riley was willing to make the switch.
He completed 25 of 35 passes for 259 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while adding another touchdown on the ground in a USC victory.
He finished the 2024 season completing 101 of 169 passes for 1,201 yards, 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also rushed for four touchdowns despite only starting four games.
There were definitely some gunslinger moments.
Against Notre Dame, Maiava threw for a season-high 360 yards and three touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.
Then came the Las Vegas Bowl against Texas A&M.
Maiava threw for 295 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.
The important part?
He kept firing.
USC ultimately defeated Texas A&M, and Maiava showed both sides of his game in one performance. You saw the arm talent and confidence that makes him exciting, but also the aggressive decision-making that still needed to be cleaned up.
That’s the Maiava experience.
He is willing to sling the football.
Sometimes maybe a little too willing.
Then Came the 2025 Breakout
This is where the Jayden Maiava conversation gets much more interesting for NFL scouts.
Given a full season as Lincoln Riley’s starter in 2025, Maiava exploded.
He completed 265 of 403 passes for 3,711 yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while completing 65.8% of his passes. He added another 157 rushing yards and six rushing touchdowns.
Most importantly, Maiava finished the season with a 91.2 ESPN QBR, which led the entire country, while also leading the Big Ten in passing yards.
His completion percentage jumped from 59.8% in 2024 to 65.8% in 2025 despite dramatically increasing his workload.
That’s the type of improvement you want to see from a developmental quarterback.
At one point early in 2025, Maiava was playing some of the best quarterback football in the country. Through five games, he had completed 70.5% of his passes for 1,587 yards, 11 touchdowns and only one interception.
At that point he ranked:
- No. 1 nationally in ESPN QBR
- No. 2 nationally in passing yards
- No. 3 nationally in passing efficiency
- No. 3 nationally in passing yards per game
- Tied for the FBS lead with 25 completions of 20-plus yards
That last number is especially interesting.
Maiava isn’t simply completing checkdowns and watching receivers create yards after the catch. He wants to push the football vertically, something Kevin O’Connell has consistently valued in his offense.
USC also finished the 2025 season first in the Big Ten in passing offense and total offense, with Maiava directing Lincoln Riley’s system.
The Accolades Are Starting to Match the Production
Maiava’s 2025 season earned him plenty of national recognition.
He was named Third-Team All-Big Ten, Phil Steele Third-Team All-Big Ten and Pro Football Sports Network Third-Team All-Big Ten.
He was also a Davey O’Brien Award semifinalist, meaning he was considered among the nation’s top quarterbacks, and a Polynesian College Football Player of the Year finalist.
Maiava earned the Davey O’Brien Great 8 recognition twice and was named Big Ten Co-Offensive Player of the Week during the season. He also appeared on the Maxwell and Manning Award watch lists.
And entering 2026, the expectations have gotten even bigger.
Maiava was selected for the 2026 Big Ten Preseason Honors and has been named to watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Manning Award, Wuerffel Trophy and Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award.
He was also nominated for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
That isn’t the résumé of some random late-round sleeper anymore.
2026 Is Already Off to a Strong Start
If Maiava’s biggest question entering 2026 was whether he could continue improving his decision-making, his first game was a pretty good opening statement.
Against San José State on August 29, Maiava completed an absurd 25 of 29 passes, or 86.2%, for 286 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. He added another rushing touchdown while leading USC to a 42-26 victory.
One game obviously doesn’t make an NFL Draft résumé.
But that’s exactly the type of performance scouts should want to see after watching some of the risky throws from earlier in Maiava’s career.
What Makes Maiava Interesting for Minnesota?
Physically, there is a lot to work with.
At 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, Maiava already has prototypical NFL quarterback size.
He is also a legitimate dual-threat quarterback, with 13 career rushing touchdowns entering the remainder of the 2026 season, but he doesn’t immediately abandon the pocket whenever pressure arrives.
Sometimes that’s actually part of the problem.
Maiava will occasionally hold onto the football too long because he wants the bigger play instead of immediately scrambling or taking the easy option.
But I’d rather have a young quarterback who believes he can make every throw and teach him when not to make one than have a quarterback who is afraid to pull the trigger.
The arm talent is there.
The athletic ability is there.
The size is there.
The production is there.
Now the biggest question is whether the decision-making continues catching up with everything else.
Why Vikings Fans Should Be Watching
This is where things get interesting for Minnesota.
New Vikings General Manager Nolan Teasley comes from Seattle, where he spent 13 seasons working in an organization known for leaning heavily on scouting, analytics and player development. Minnesota hired him in June to oversee the next era of the roster.
And quarterback could still become a major decision.
J.J. McCarthy’s future remains uncertain, while Kyler Murray is currently Minnesota’s starter on a short-term contract. If Murray plays well enough to command significantly more money or McCarthy fails to establish himself as Minnesota’s long-term answer, Teasley and Kevin O’Connell could find themselves searching for their next quarterback.
That’s why the 2027 quarterback class matters.
And that’s why Jayden Maiava matters.
Right now, I view Maiava as roughly a second-to-fourth-round quarterback prospect, but his range might be wider than almost any quarterback in the class.
If the turnovers come back and the decision-making regresses, he could remain a developmental Day 2 or Day 3 prospect.
But if Maiava puts together another season around 65-plus-percent completions, 3,500-plus yards and 25-30 touchdowns while cutting down the interceptions, the conversation completely changes.
A 6-foot-4, 230-pound quarterback with a big arm, mobility, multiple years in Lincoln Riley’s offense, elite QBR production and improving ball security isn’t going to stay hidden very long.
A big 2026 season could send him flying up draft boards.
Maybe even into the first round.
And if he really puts everything together?
Don’t rule out the possibility of Jayden Maiava pushing himself into the top-10 conversation.
So while Vikings fans spend the 2026 season evaluating J.J. McCarthy and Kyler Murray, keep one eye on Southern California.
Jayden Maiava might be playing his way directly onto Minnesota’s 2027 NFL Draft radar.
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