Top 10 Quarterback Prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft
Last Updated: August 31, 2026 | Source: Consensus rankings from 9 outletsThe 2026 quarterback class is led by Arch Manning, Dante Moore, Julian Sayin. Here's a breakdown of the top 10 prospects at the position, with scouting reports, measurables, and projected draft range.
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1. Arch Manning — Texas
Consensus Rank: #2 overall | Projection: Top 15 pick | Measurables: 6'4", 219 lbsArch Manning is the most discussed quarterback in the 2027 NFL Draft class and a player widely regarded as arguably the nation's most discussed player after a poll of 20 evaluators last summer. Listed at 6'4" and 219-222 pounds, Manning entered Texas as the top-ranked quarterback recruit in the 2023 class and carries the obvious bloodlines as Archie's grandson and Peyton and Eli's nephew. The 2025 starting debut was uneven: a flat opener against Ohio State, an inexplicable struggle against UTEP, then a strong stretch capped by a 17-point fourth-quarter comeback at Mississippi State (29-of-46, 346 yards, 4 total TDs).
Strengths: Prototypical 6'4"/219-222 frame with a well-built lower half and mechanics scouts call 'picture-perfect' when he stays disciplined ... Quick over-the-top delivery with NFL arm strength to drive throws into tight windows ... Aggressive downfield thrower at 10.0 air yards per attempt with 15 of 61 completions of 20+ yards in 2024 Concerns: Only 12 career starts entering 2026 ... scouts view roughly 25 as the minimum benchmark for a draft-ready QB NFL Comparison: J.J. McCarthy (similar frame and play style) Full scouting report for Arch Manning →---
2. Dante Moore — Oregon
Consensus Rank: #5 overall | Projection: Top 15 pick | Measurables: 6'3", 206 lbsDante Moore has skyrocketed in his first full year as Oregon's starter and projects as the 2027 class headliner at quarterback after announcing he would return to Eugene rather than declare for 2026. Scouts grade him as an early-round quarterback with legitimate franchise upside, and he flashed as an early riser with elite efficiency grades through his first three games. Mock-draft buzz pegged him as a bona fide top-ten prospect before he opted to return.
Strengths: Natural thrower with touch, accuracy, and pro-level ball placement ... Plus arm talent with enough velocity to attack tight windows and layer throws ... Low-pulse pocket poise, difficult to speed up, trusts structure and answers in clutch moments Concerns: Arm strength is plus but not elite ... passes lose juice the further they travel downfield NFL Comparison: Jayden Daniels (pocket poise, second-reaction creation) Full scouting report for Dante Moore →---
3. Julian Sayin — Ohio State
Consensus Rank: #13 overall | Projection: Top 15 pick | Measurables: 6-1, 208 lbsJulian Sayin is the headlining quarterback of the 2027 NFL Draft class after one of the most efficient debut seasons in modern Big Ten history. A consensus five-star from Carlsbad (CA) and the consensus No. 1 quarterback in the 2024 recruiting class, Sayin originally signed with Alabama and enrolled early in January 2024 before transferring to Ohio State following Nick Saban's retirement.
Strengths: Led FBS in completion percentage at 77.0% in 2025 on 9.2 YPA showing accuracy was not propped up by screens ... Lightning-quick release with compact mechanics that fit timing-based NFL passing concepts ... Elite anticipation on in-breakers and seam shots that splits safeties and attacks the middle of the field Concerns: Undersized at roughly 6-1 and 208 pounds with below-average pocket height for the position ... Arm strength is good enough rather than elite which can flatten out the deep ball into hospital throws NFL Comparison: Bo Nix (undersized timing-based distributor with accuracy and processing) Full scouting report for Julian Sayin →---
4. Darian Mensah —
Miami
Consensus Rank: #19 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 6-3, 205 lbsMensah is a cerebral, accuracy-first pocket passer who has climbed onto 2027 radars after a meteoric rise from two-star San Luis Obispo recruit to ACC starter. He redshirted at Tulane in 2023, won the job in 2024 and threw for 2,723 yards with a 22:6 TD-to-INT line at 65. 9% and a national-third 9.
Strengths: Elite accuracy and ball placement to all three levels, completing over 70% at Duke while sustaining nearly nine yards per attempt ... outstanding intermediate passer, 64% on 10-to-19-yard throws with a 10:1 TD-to-INT and 11.5 yards per attempt in that zone ... exceptional ball security with a 23:7 career TD-to-INT mark and cut his pick rate in half from Tulane to Duke Concerns: Undersized at roughly 205 pounds, raising real durability questions about absorbing NFL contact ... non-elite arm strength that makes touch a necessity rather than a luxury NFL Comparison: Bo Nix (accuracy and processing carry a non-elite arm, system-fit precision passer) Full scouting report for Darian Mensah →---
5. CJ Carr — Notre Dame
Consensus Rank: #24 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 6'3", 210 lbs, 4.7s 40CJ Carr is the face of the 2027 quarterback class conversation and the centerpiece of Notre Dame's offense. Football is the family business: his grandfather Lloyd Carr coached Michigan to a national title and his father Jason played quarterback for the Wolverines, and Carr plays with that pedigree stamped all over his game. A consensus four-star recruit out of Saline, Michigan, he redshirted in 2024, then won the starting job and started all 12 games as a redshirt freshman in 2025.
Strengths: Compact, repeatable release with the ball coming out clean and on time ... Elite rhythm accuracy and ball placement, set a Notre Dame record 168.06 passer rating ... Advanced anticipation, throws receivers open before the break Concerns: Below-average NFL athlete who offers no threat as a runner (-15 rushing yards in 2025) ... Light 210-pound frame that NFL rushers will test as pockets collapse NFL Comparison: Trent Green (pro comparison) Full scouting report for CJ Carr →---
6. Drew Mestemaker — Oklahoma State
Consensus Rank: #30 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 6-4, 211 lbsMestemaker is one of the great revelations of the 2025 cycle, a former walk-on who never started a varsity game in high school and is now graded as a top-10 quarterback in the class. He projects as a Day 2 prospect with a third-round grade, and he was regarded as one of the top quarterbacks available in the transfer portal. After redshirting at North Texas in 2024, he started all 14 games as a redshirt freshman and led the FBS with 4,379 passing yards, threw 34 touchdowns against nine interceptions, and set UNT single-season records for yards, scores, completion percentage (68.
Strengths: Quick, compact release that gets the ball out fast and limits sack exposure, grading near the top of the class for release speed ... Led the entire FBS with 4,379 passing yards in 2025 as a redshirt freshman ... Threw 34 touchdowns to just nine interceptions with a 168.69 passer efficiency rating Concerns: Throwing mechanics need significant work, with a low elbow and a release point that starts near the hip ... Too many passes batted down at the line for a quarterback his size NFL Comparison: Will Howard (a big-bodied late-blooming pocket passer who climbed boards through production rather than recruiting pedigree) Full scouting report for Drew Mestemaker →---
7. LaNorris Sellers — South Carolina
Consensus Rank: #30 overall | Projection: First round | Measurables: 6'3", 242 lbsLaNorris Sellers is the most physically gifted quarterback in the 2027 class, a 6'3", 242-pound dual-threat with linebacker-frame size and 22-plus mph GPS-tracked speed. Scouts comp him to Daunte Culpepper with shades of young Ben Roethlisberger and Josh Allen, and he profiles in the same archetypal prospect tier as Allen, Cam Newton, and Anthony Richardson. Some evaluators peg him as the class's top quarterback on traits, while others slide him toward the back of the top four and a Day 2 grade behind Mendoza, Moore, and Simpson after a choppy 2025.
Strengths: Linebacker-build frame at 6'3" 242 with elite contact balance, led FBS in forced missed tackles and YAC from Week 9 on in 2024 ... Tracked above 22 mph on GPS, 97.5 in-game athleticism score with 75 plays at 15+ mph ... 86.4 passing grade under pressure with 9 big-time throws vs. just 4 turnover-worthy plays Concerns: Slow progressions, gets stuck on his first read and bails to scrambling instead of climbing to second/third option ... Bloated 3.31-second average time to throw in 2024, still 3.36 in 2025, quick-game concepts don't come naturally NFL Comparison: Daunte Culpepper (size/build/run-pass duality per Jeremiah) Full scouting report for LaNorris Sellers →---
8. Jayden Maiava — USC
Consensus Rank: #61 overall | Projection: Second round | Measurables: 6-4, 225 lbsOnce written off as a developmental 2027 name, Maiava forced his way into 2026 draft conversations by leading the Big Ten in passing yards, yards per attempt, yards per completion, and EPA in his second USC season under Lincoln Riley. He grades as a second-round prospect, projecting a below-average starter with above-average upside. He fits the modern game as an air-raid quick-game operator: a lightning release, elite pressure-to-sack rate, and a knack for resetting his base under duress to deliver accurate balls.
Strengths: Lightning-quick release that drives elite efficiency ... elite pressure-to-sack rate (8.2%) and consistent sack avoidance ... low turnover-worthy play rate (3.5%) that has dropped every season Concerns: Fringe-average arm strength that limits the deep ball, with a visible decline past 40 yards ... lower-half mechanics lag behind his release with poor weight transfer NFL Comparison: Caleb Williams: similar USC lineage and off-platform creativity under pressure, though Maiava lacks the same arm and athletic ceiling Full scouting report for Jayden Maiava →---
9. Trinidad Chambliss —
Ole Miss
Consensus Rank: #64 overall | Projection: Second round | Measurables: 6'0", 200 lbsChambliss is one of the great improvisation stories in recent memory, a zero-star Division II benchwarmer who won two national titles at Ferris State and then walked into the SEC and dragged Ole Miss to the College Football Playoff semifinals. He is a dual-threat quarterback in the modern mold, a jitterbug athlete whose legs turn broken plays into first downs and whose creativity forces defenses to cover every blade of grass. As a designed runner he is a genuine weapon on QB power, counter and draw, using shifty feet and angle-seeking vision to avoid tackles rather than break them.
Strengths: Dynamic dual-threat athlete who extends plays and creates second-reaction throws by escaping the pocket ... dangerous designed runner on QB power, counter, draw and RPO with shiftiness, speed and tackle-avoiding vision ... better arm strength than his reputation, with velocity and zip to drive short and intermediate throws into tight windows Concerns: Undersized quarterback whose passes get batted at the line and who struggles to see the middle of a muddy pocket ... raw pre-snap processor who does not make his own protection checks and relies on sideline cards and coaches against pressure looks NFL Comparison: Russell Wilson (undersized dual-threat with off-platform creativity) Full scouting report for Trinidad Chambliss →---
10. Drake Lindsey — Minnesota
Consensus Rank: #66 overall | Projection: Day 2 | Measurables: 6'5", 230 lbsDrake Lindsey grew up in a Razorback family in Fayetteville, where his grandfather played on Arkansas' 1964 national title team and his father caught passes for the Hogs, and his hometown program never offered him. Minnesota did, becoming his first Power Four offer before his senior year. He had earned it: the 2023 Arkansas MaxPreps Player of the Year threw 54 touchdowns against three interceptions while leading Fayetteville to a 13-0 state championship.
Strengths: Plays on time, with processing and timing ahead of his raw tools ... keeps the offense on schedule and rarely forces the issue from clean pockets ... throws with anticipation into tight intermediate windows Concerns: Below-average deep arm, and cross-field throws need more velocity to arrive on time ... lazy footwork and an off-platform habit show up under pressure NFL Comparison: Kyle Trask timing-and-processing pocket passer with an ordinary deep ball Full scouting report for Drake Lindsey →---