Meet the (New) Quarterbacks of the 2026 NFL Draft

It feels like yesterday when every single 2026 NFL mock draft was littered with the same consensus of who the first five quarterbacks off the board would be. It was a safe bet that somewhere on the list you would see some combination of:

Garrett Nussmeier (LSU)

LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina)

Drew Allar (Penn State)

Cade Klubnik (Clemson)

But an even safer bet, was that the very first quarterback, and first player taken overall would be the one and only Arch Manning out of Texas (3-2, 0-1 SEC).

How quickly time flies. Sitting here a month into the 2025 season and Manning has fallen out of draft mocks faster than Texas fell out of the AP Poll.

Poor decision making, poor throws and a few turnovers later, the only thing Manning has going for him is that his fellow 2026 draft darlings at the position also collectively took a surprising step back. Well, except for Sellers, but the injury concern is now something to monitor.

I will go ahead and say that Sellers is probably still a safe top-20 player bet, and that Nussmeier will probably play his way back into round one. Manning will most likely do as his grandfather said and play another year at Texas. Allar and Klubnik, we shall see, but both have pretty damning performances in pretty damning losses to teams they should have beaten handily.

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So, who has taken advantage and risen to the top? Time to look at some names you’ll be seeing more often.

1. Fernando Mendoza, No. 7 Indiana (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten)

A month ago, if you would have told me that Manning’s spot atop most mock drafts would be taken by Indiana’s quarterback who transferred in from Cal to play in Curt Cignetti’s system, I would have laughed.

Now? That’s exactly what happened.

Mendoza is a quick mental processor, has pocket awareness and is tough as nails, plus with a stat line of 1,208 yards, 16-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio, whats not to love?

You can say it’s Indiana’s QB-friendly system, but I personally watched Mendoza carve up Auburn a year ago. The guy has been a winner for a long time, and I think the Jared Goff comparisons I’ve heard are justified.

Best team fit: New Orleans Saints

2. Dante Moore, No. 3 Oregon (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten)

Similarly to Mendoza, Moore transferred to his new school, coming to Oregon from UCLA. Similarly, he has also only thrown one interception so far.

Brett Venables needed a spark for the Sooners’ offense after a losing season in 2024, so he brought both Mateer and his offensive coordinatory from Washington State, Ben Arbuckle, and the change has been instantaneous. Having Arbuckle call plays probably helps, but I would wager that Mateer can play in any system, given his experience.

Best team fit: Pittsburgh Steelers

Honorable mentions: Carson Beck, No. 2 Miami (5-0, 2-0 ACC); Sam Leavitt, No. 21 Arizona State (4-1, 2-0 Big 12); Ty Simpson, No. 8 Alabama (4-1, 2-0 SEC)