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The Arizona Cardinals made Miami quarterback Carson Beck the 65th pick of the 2026 NFL Draft. He was the third quarterback taken in the draft.

Beck, who turns 24 in November, began his six-year collegiate career at Georgia, where he redshirted as a freshman and then served as the backup to Stetson Bennett on back-to-back national championship teams. As a starter at Georgia, Beck led the Bulldogs to a 24-3 record, including an SEC championship, completing 68 percent of his passes for 7,426 yards, 52 touchdowns and 18 interceptions over his final two seasons in Athens.

Beck transferred to Miami for his final season, where he led the Hurricanes back to the national championship game for the first time in 24 years. He ranked second nationally in completion percentage (72.4) and threw for 3,813 yards with 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. All three of Miami’s losses, however, ended with Beck throwing late-game interceptions.

Beck’s career at Georgia ended with a significant right elbow injury, which required surgery for a torn ulnar collateral ligament. At Miami, Beck took fewer chances downfield than he did at Georgia, throwing nearly 40 percent of his passes less than 10 yards downfield, according to Pro Football Focus.

Still, Beck’s experience makes him a valuable commodity. Only two Power 4 quarterbacks since 2019 won more games as a starter than Beck — Oregon’s Dillon Gabriel (46) and Bo Nix (43).

‘The Beast’ breakdown

Beck ranked No. 145 in Dane Brugler’s top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:

“Beck is a cerebral pocket passer who can lead drives when the offense stays in rhythm, but he isn’t a proven second-reaction quarterback when things don’t go according to plan. He projects as an NFL backup and potential spot starter.”

Coaching intel

“I think (Miami offensive coordinator Shannon) Dawson did a good job of keeping it simple for Beck. He had a lot of easy reads. You’re either going here or you’re going there. If not, pull it down and run it or throw it away. Beck was more confident when he was at Georgia. I think that had a lot to do with his offensive line. He made the right reads and checks to get in and out of things to keep them out of harm’s way.” — A Power 4 assistant coach who faced Beck in 2025

Come back later for more analysis of Beck.