Tankathon’s latest 2027 NFL mock draft has Notre Dame quarterback C.J. Carr coming off the board at No. 21 overall to the Pittsburgh Steelers, a first-round projection that puts a young starter in range of teams already planning life after a 42-year-old quarterback.

The Steelers are that team.

Aaron Rodgers is 2-1 after a 30-27 win over Cincinnati. He completed 19 of 34 passes for 292 yards and three touchdowns with one interception Sunday. Through three games he is 66 of 113 for 700 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and Drew Allar remain in the room. None is locked in as the next franchise quarterback.

Carr is listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. On Tankathon he is the fifth quarterback selected, behind Arch Manning, Darian Mensah, Dante Moore and Trinidad Chambliss.

The 2026 numbers are clean. Through four games he is 67 of 95 for 963 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception, a 70.5 completion rate and a 184.4 passer rating. Against Purdue he was 14 of 22 for 237 yards and three scores with his first interception of the season, plus a rushing touchdown in a 49-10 win. Notre Dame is 4-0.

That follows a 2025 season in which Carr threw for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions after taking over as a freshman. He is the grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr and the son of former NFL backup Jason Carr.

Size is not elite. The arm and processing have been enough to keep him in the first-round mix. Mike McCarthy’s offense has lived on timing and play-action since he reunited with Rodgers. Carr is closer to a dropback profile than a dual-threat project.

The Steelers have spent two years treating Rodgers as a bridge. Allar was last year’s developmental pick. Adding Carr at 21 would be a bet that Notre Dame efficiency translates when the pocket collapses in the AFC North — and that Rodgers does not return for a 23rd season.

Manning and Mensah will go earlier. Carr is the next name: productive, young enough to sit a year, already starting for a top-five team.

Tankathon updates after every game and factors team needs. Pittsburgh’s record will move the pick. The quarterback room will not look finished if Rodgers walks and Allar is still a project.

Replacement is the word because this has been framed as Rodgers’ final season. The mock has the Steelers taking Carr before they have to find out whether that is true.