{"id":580131,"date":"2026-04-02T05:58:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:58:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/580131\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T05:58:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T05:58:10","slug":"is-carson-beck-a-dark-horse-first-round-pick-in-2026-nfl-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/580131\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Carson Beck a dark horse first round pick in 2026 NFL Draft?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 NFL<\/a> Draft is approaching as the annual league meetings conclude in Phoenix, Arizona. Teams are now finalizing their draft boards and completing their due diligence.<\/p>\n

One key part of that process is the Top-30 visits each team conducts with various prospects. While these players aren\u2019t necessarily ranked in a team\u2019s top 30, the visits often signal which prospects teams are seriously considering.<\/p>\n

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One position that always draws intense scrutiny is quarterback. After Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson, the race for QB3 in this class remains wide open.<\/p>\n

MORE: Does the Jalen Hurts discourse make sense?<\/a><\/p>\n

However, one name has recently started to gain surprising momentum: Carson Beck, the former Georgia Bulldog and Miami Hurricane quarterback.<\/p>\n

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Beck has logged three known or reported Top-30 visits, meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins.<\/p>\n

The Dolphins visit qualifies as a local visit, meaning it does not count against their Top-30 limit. The other two meetings, however, carry more weight, as neither team is local.<\/p>\n

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Notably, both teams appear to have long-term answers at quarterback. Meanwhile, despite signing Malik Willis, reports<\/a> indicate the Dolphins may still be evaluating contingency plans.<\/p>\n

MORE: Las Vegas Raiders have another veteran quarterback in mind for 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

That context makes Beck\u2019s visits even more intriguing. He entered the 2025 season as a potential Heisman favorite and, before suffering a UCL injury in 2024, was projected as a strong first-round candidate for the 2025 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

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Beck\u2019s up-and-down season at Miami revealed flashes of a mature, experienced passer capable of processing at the next level. However, his arm strength noticeably declined as the season progressed.<\/p>\n

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The drop-off wasn\u2019t as dramatic as late-career versions of Ben Roethlisberger or Peyton Manning, but Beck\u2019s medical outlook remains a significant concern.<\/p>\n

So, can you rule Beck out in the first round? Possibly, but history suggests caution.<\/p>\n

MORE: Fernando Mendoza\u2019s Indiana Pro Day updates, highlights before 2026 NFL Draft<\/a><\/p>\n

Consider Tyler Shough, who entered the draft process as a projected Day 3 pick before surging late into second-round consideration, even generating some first-round buzz. Like Beck, Shough carried notable injury concerns but still offered clear passing talent.<\/p>\n

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As things stand today, Beck likely falls short of first-round status.<\/p>\n

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But with two to three weeks remaining, could that change? Could Beck emerge as a dark-horse Day 1 or Day 2 selection?<\/p>\n

\u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 NFL Draft is approaching as the annual league meetings conclude in Phoenix, Arizona. Teams are now…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":580132,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[1258,64,63,85190,104240,103353,1226,934,23167,6579,1250,59152,5140,1233,33627,593,8109,1241,85,76895,1271],"class_list":["post-580131","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-ben-roethlisberger","tag-carson-beck","tag-fernando-mendoza","tag-florida-gators","tag-indianapolis","tag-jacksonville","tag-jalen-hurts","tag-las-vegas-raiders","tag-malik-willis","tag-miami","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-miami-hurricanes","tag-nfl","tag-peyton-manning","tag-pittsburgh-steelers","tag-sports","tag-ty-simpson","tag-tyler-shough"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580131","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=580131"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580131\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/580132"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=580131"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=580131"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=580131"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}