A year after an underwhelming class left the football world debating the merits of Shedeur Sanders and Jalen Milroe in Round 1, the 2026 NFL Draft offers a surplus of draft-eligible passers. The hype is rampant, the agendas are out of control, and as a new college football season begins, there is plenty of fun to be had.
There's a passing prospect for everyone this season. Arch Manning has a ton of potential, but LaNorris Sellers's physical tools set him apart. Garrett Nussmeier is pro-ready, though several high-profile quarterbacks will rely on their talent to overcome raw intangibles.
In today's game, every quarterback is measured against the demigods ruling the sport. Lamar Jackson can create explosives out of thin air. Josh Allen's dominance feels inevitable. Patrick Mahomes built a dynasty by blending out-of-structure prowess with in-structure consistency.
How these prospects stack up against the game's best will decide where they'll fall in April. As the games get underway, let's take a look at where these quarterbacks stand and what they must accomplish in 2025.
2026 NFL Draft quarterback rankings
1. Arch Manning, Texas
No prospect entered the 2025 season with more hype than Manning. Two starts were enough to set expectations incredibly high for his redshirt season, and against Ohio State in Week 1, it all came crashing down.
Despite having the worst game of his career to start the season, Manning has many of the ingredients necessary to be a top pick. The arm strength is good, the athleticism is even better, and in his small sample last year, he flashed plenty of intangibles. He was in control within structure, making plays out of it, and oozing with confidence.
That wasn't the case in Columbus. How he rebounds against high-level competition will go a long way in re-establishing the stock that was undeniably dented in Week 1.
Regression was always possible, and there's a real chance he tumbles down these rankings by the next update. For now, though, I'll trust that his processing and poise return as he grows more comfortable.
2. Cade Klubnik, Clemson
Klubnik's profile offers a narrower set of possibilities than Manning's. He's more experienced and consistently productive. Armed with perhaps college football's best roster, Klubnik is set to compete for a championship in 2025.
He doesn't have elite physical tools, but his arm is plenty strong. He can confidently stretch the field and has enough athleticism to be utilized in the ground game. Within structure, he makes strong decisions. His tools allow him to make plays in and out of the pocket.
Klubnik projects as an average-to-above-average starting quarterback. There are questions about his pocket navigation and bouts of recklessness, but the floor of his intangibles and quality tools set him up nicely for early success.
3. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
There are a handful of early-round prospects who need to showcase real development to truly be trusted in Round 1. Nussmeier isn't one of them. The redshirt senior is experienced, polished, and expected to lead LSU to a playoff berth.
Nussmeier doesn't project like a turnover-prone passer, and his ability to avoid sacks (without elite athleticism) is a promising example of his nuance. His blend of arm strength and athleticism trends treacherously toward average, but he compensates for it with elite processing, good decisions, and a unique ability to make plays more frequently than his raw talent would suggest.
The only real question in Nussmeier's profile is his upside. Some teams are bound to trust him, although teams shooting for the stars will prefer a handful of other passers.
4. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Mendoza is the final quarterback with a first-round grade on my board. A transfer from Cal, the switch to Big Ten competition should do him well, and he shouldn't take long to showcase his arm talent on a prominent stage.
Mendoza is a full-fledged big-game hunter. His arm strength is elite, he's aggressive downfield, and his placement changes the calculus on otherwise low-probability throws.
His processing stands out, too. Mendoza is not going to commit many turnovers within structure, although his recklessness under pressure is a lingering concern. He struggles to manage the pocket and can get himself into trouble, subsequently committing turnover-worthy plays of his own making.
Mendoza's upside is enthralling. In a system that encourages him to stretch the field, there's a path for him to develop into one of the league's better quarterbacks.
5. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
Out of every quarterback in this class, Sellers is far and away the most capable of making a second-round grade look silly. His tools are otherworldly and more than enough to go first overall. Sellers has the arm strength to make any throw. More obvious, though, is his combination of size and speed.
At 6'2", 240 pounds with potential sub-4.50 speed, Sellers will enter as the QB1 for plenty of great analysts. I can't blame them. His ability to turn broken plays into big gains helped him take down Clemson in 2024. He's a walking highlight reel and the most exciting player in the class.
However, almost all of Sellers' best work comes outside the structure of the offense. That's fine in the SEC but untenable on Sundays. He'll need to showcase a better ability to work the quick game. He's still prone to turnovers, and his proclivity for leaving the pocket isn't always beneficial. At times, he can be a beat late, and while trusting his arm strength is important, speeding up his processing will open more windows for him.
Sellers has flashes of nuance. He can move linebackers with his eyes to open throwing lanes and often leverages his athleticism to make plays with his arm. The runway for Sellers to develop into a supernova is real, even if the risk is, too.
6. Drew Allar, Penn State
Allar has prototypical size at 6'5" and 236 pounds. He's a good athlete with exceptional arm strength and creates big plays far more often than he puts the ball in harm's way.
Still just 21 years old, Allar has plenty of raw elements in his game and the time to develop them. He's yet to look comfortable on a handful of concepts, can grow hesitant in the pocket, and struggles with delayed blitzers that don't align with the pre-snap picture.
At Penn State, there is no shortage of opportunities to play against elite competition. Last season, his worst games came against Ohio State and Oregon. Growing into a more mature passer who can approach his ceiling regardless of opponent will be the key to being drafted in Round 1.
7. Sam Leavitt, Arizona State
Leavitt isn't getting the hype of his early-round counterparts, which doesn't make a ton of sense given his success in 2024. He looked good in the College Football Playoff, rarely committed turnovers, and was a useful part of the Sun Devils' rushing attack.
His blend of arm talent, ball security, and playmaking has turned him into a potential NFL starter. Like Allar, intangible growth is likely a prerequisite for improving his stock. His poise is promising, although his tendency to leave pockets early is a concern. Despite being a safe decision-maker, he doesn't process quite as quickly as more experienced counterparts like Nussmeier and Mendoza.
8. John Mateer, Oklahoma
Mateer, spiritually, is awfully similar to Baker Mayfield. The Washington State transfer will hope to experience a similar rise in Norman.
Mateer is short but dense, listed at 6'0", 224, and has more than enough athleticism to play a major role in a team's ground game. He ran rampant at Washington State and will likely be tasked with more of the same in the SEC.
As a passer, Mateer is a chaos agent who thrives out of structure. His creativity can turn comical, but his knack for making plays his real and, arguably, sustainable. He'll need to be less erratic in the pocket to earn Day 2 capital, but Mateer profiles like a fringe-top-100 prospect ahead of his 2025 campaign.
9. Aidan Chiles, Michigan State
Chiles is a by-the-book developmental starter. He'll enter the season with a fourth-round grade on my board, thanks in part to a pesky turnover problem. Chiles led the conference with 11 interceptions a season ago. He's an unfinished product intangibly, struggling to deal with pressure and dipping into funks of recklessness.
There are enough tools to believe in; his arm strength and athleticism are both capable of earning higher draft capital. Interestingly enough, Chiles offers great footwork from under-center play-action, opening the door for some extra interest from descendants of the Kyle Shanahan tree.
His ability to challenge the intermediate parts of the field is encouraging, much like his steady accuracy. Until he performs better under duress, though, it will be hard to move him ahead of early Day 3.
10. Carson Beck, Miami
Once the 2025 preseason QB1, Beck's inconsistencies in his final Georgia campaign left a mark on his stock. It's hard to see him earning the draft capital that analysts once forecasted.
Beck's traits don't jump off the screen. His arm checks the box but doesn't push the needle, and his athleticism lags behind most of the game's rising stars. Beck will look to shake the game manager moniker in 2025. I'm not terribly confident in his ability to do so.
Whereas Nussmeier's mediocre tools are mitigated by his ability to make plays, Beck's skill set leaves him without options when things go wrong. This is the profile of a strong backup quarterback. Neither his developmental runway nor physical traits suggest he'll push for Round 1 capital.
Transferring to Miami for his final collegiate season, competing for a championship will afford him the opportunity to change the narrative.
Other names to watch
Eli Holstein, Pitt
- Holstein's youth serves him well. There's plenty of time for him to make good on the hype surrounding Pitt, but he'll need to mature as a passer to capitalize on his middle-of-the-field flashes.
Rocco Becht, Iowa State
- Maybe it's a helmet-scouting sin to compare Becht to Purdy. Compared to what the 49ers' starter looked like coming out, it isn't unfair. I like him within structure, and he's a plus athlete. Everything else is a work in progress.
Byrum Brown, USF
- Brown's boundary streaks, athleticism, and powerful frame remind me of an early-college Jalen Hurts. He'll need to take a leap in 2025 to have any chance of being drafted on Day 2 like Hurts was, but the entertainment value in his game is worth paying attention to, regardless of how his stock fares.
Taylen Green, Arkansas
- Green exhibited a strong command of the offense in 2024. His tools are enough to be drafted, but dangerous inconsistencies in his accuracy and decisions hurt his ceiling and floor.
Avery Johnson, Kansas State
- Johnson is an unfinished product, and that's acceptable, given his age. This season will be significant for his development, particularly when it comes to deciphering zone coverages and changing post-snap pictures.
MORE NFL NEWS
- Garrett Nussmeier 2026 NFL Draft scouting report: LSU's passer primed to explode
- Cade Klubnik 2026 NFL Draft scouting report: Clemson could have another No. 1 pick
- Arch Manning 2026 NFL Draft scouting report: Is it too early for QB1 talks?