{"id":292188,"date":"2025-11-15T00:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-15T00:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/292188\/"},"modified":"2025-11-15T00:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-15T00:54:09","slug":"nfl-evaluators-down-on-2026-qb-draft-class","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/292188\/","title":{"rendered":"NFL Evaluators Down On 2026 QB Draft Class"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2024 NFL draft saw a record-breaking six quarterbacks selected within the first 12 selections of the event. Things were much different last year with\u00a0Cam Ward<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Jaxson Dart<\/a>\u00a0the only passers to hear their names called.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Ahead of the current season, many felt a rebound would be coming<\/a> at the position. Based on how things have played out so far, however, that stance has shifted around the league. As Jeff Howe of The Athletic writes (subscription required<\/a>), there are \u201cserious concerns\u201d about the 2026 class and its potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t love any of [the quarterbacks] right now,\u201d one NFL executive said.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re trying to grasp onto somebody because there isn\u2019t anybody, and it\u2019s such a flavor of the week. Good luck right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indiana\u2019s Fernando Mendoza<\/a> has been among the most impressive signal-callers of the college season so far. He is viewed by many as the top prospect set to declare for the 2026 draft as a result, although opinions are split on his ceiling<\/a> at the NFL level. Ty Simpson<\/a>\u00a0has enjoyed a strong first season as Alabama\u2019s starter, but in addition to a lack of experience he has generated concerns related to his physical traits.<\/p>\n

Other highly-touted prospects like Oregon\u2019s\u00a0Dante Moore<\/a>, South Carolina\u2019s\u00a0LaNorris Sellers<\/a>, and Texas\u2019\u00a0Arch Manning<\/a> are not guaranteed to turn pro in 2026. Moore and Sellers are still 20 years old and could benefit from another year of development at the college level. Manning, currently a redshirt sophomore, has long been expected to stay in school through at least the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

That would strengthen a 2027 class that already includes Florida\u2019s DJ Lagway<\/a> and Nebraska\u2019s Dylan Raiola<\/a>, which will impact roster-building strategies over the next year-and-a-half. Few things are more important to an NFL team than finding a franchise quarterback, and time and time again, the draft has proven to be the best way of doing that.<\/p>\n

Teams\u2019 approaches will vary based on their timeline, draft capital, and need. The Jets and the Browns could certainly use an upgrade under center and have amassed a number of first-round picks that could allow them to acquire their desired prospect next spring. The Raiders, Rams, Steelers, and Cardinals could all be seeking new signal-callers in the next two years, but may stick with their veterans in 2026 with an eye on the 2027 draft.<\/p>\n

There are also a number of familiar names in the 2026 draft like Penn State\u2019s Drew Allar<\/a>, Miami\u2019s Carson Beck<\/a>, and Clemson\u2019s Cade Klubnik<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 all multi-year starters who never put it all together in college. And of course,\u00a0quarterback prospects still have plenty of time to rise and fall in the rankings, especially those in the 2027 class.<\/p>\n

Nikhil Mehta contributed to this article.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2024 NFL draft saw a record-breaking six quarterbacks selected within the first 12 selections of the event.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292189,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[68019,8026,7588,25813,40548,76262,68073,63295,99],"class_list":["post-292188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-2026-nfl-draft","tag-arch-manning","tag-cade-klubnik","tag-carson-beck","tag-drew-allar","tag-dylan-raiola","tag-fernando-mendoza","tag-lanorris-sellers","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292188","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292188"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292188\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292189"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292188"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292188"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292188"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}