Top 10 College Quarterbacks Right Now: Early 2026 NFL Draft Projections and Prospect Rankings

Justin Carter's early 2026 NFL Draft QB projections and prospect rankings. His top 10 quarterback prospects and fantasy football rookies in 2026.

The 2026 NFL Draft feels like it's a long way away, but with the way time works, it just keeps going and going! It will be here before you know it.

After a 2025 class that did not feature many high-end quarterback prospects, 2026 is set to be much different. Maybe there aren't a ton of elite guys in it, but there are numerous quarterbacks who can be effective NFL starters.

Here are the top 10 fantasy football quarterback prospects among potential rookie quarterbacks next season. Some players on this list may stay in school, but each player here is currently eligible for next year's NFL Draft.

10. Dante Moore - Oregon

Transferring to Oregon has helped Bo Nix and Dillon Gabriel get drafted. Now, it's former UCLA quarterback Dante Moore's turn.

Moore wasn't very good with the Bruins, completing just 53.5 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2023. He was also a non-factor on the ground.

Oregon has produced a Heisman finalist in each of the past two seasons

Is Dante Moore next?👀 pic.twitter.com/oPcT5twrPf

— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 20, 2025

However, Oregon has become a bit of a QB factory over the last few years, so we can't fully count out a Moore breakout campaign. That's why he sneaks onto this list in 10th place.

9. Carson Beck - Miami

Here we go again.

Beck was projected fairly high early on for the 2025 quarterback class before beginning the 2024 season. His underwhelming performance not only pushed him down draft boards, but it convinced him to take the Cam Ward route: transfer to Miami instead of declaring for the NFL Draft.

That move made Ward millions of dollars as a 2024 breakout season landed him a spot at the very top of April's draft. It more than likely won't pay those same dividends to Beck, who just isn't the passer or athlete that Ward is.

However, Beck's got a solid arm, so if he can cut down on the turnovers in 2025, he has a chance to land as a Day 2 pick in next year's draft.

8. Fernando Mendoza - Indiana

We start with a player who's hoping that a move to Indiana is the thing that propels him up draft boards.

Mendoza is coming off a solid year at Cal, completing 68.7 percent of his passes for 3,004 yards. He threw just 16 touchdowns, though, and is looking to improve on that as a Hoosier.

Last year, Indiana added Kurtis Rourke, the former MAC Player of the Year at Ohio. Rourke threw a career-high 29 touchdowns and ended up being drafted in the seventh round by the 49ers.

Mendoza is a good thrower, someone who can put the ball wherever it needs to go. Playing with subpar talent at Cal made it tough for that to show up if you watched him last season. He's also a plus athlete who can make plays with his legs.

He's also still largely a mystery, hence his placement at No. 8 on this list. Some analysts are high on him, though. Yahoo's Nate Tice, for example, has Mendoza as his overall QB1 in 2026 (under the assumption that Arch Manning goes back to Texas for another season).

7. Sam Leavitt - Arizona State

Arizona State was the surprise of college football last year, going from 3-9 to a playoff berth thanks in large part to two players: running back Cam Skattebo and quarterback Sam Leavitt.

Skattebo is in the NFL now, so a return trip to the College Football Playoff will fall squarely on Leavitt's shoulders. Last season, he threw for 2,885 yards and 24 touchdowns for the Sun Devils while also running for 443 yards and five more touchdowns.

The conclusion of my Sam Leavitt film study: He needs more hype‼️

His ability to generate power from any arm/body position is so fun to watch. Leavitt is a playmaker who takes good care of the ball. His five turnover worthy plays in 350 pass attempts is also very impressive. pic.twitter.com/wwT0zyJrlw

— Owen Denny (@OwenDennyNFL) May 19, 2025

Leavitt is capable of doing a bit of everything out on the field. He has a big arm, but also manages to mostly avoid putting the ball in too much danger. He's got the mobility to escape the pocket and make plays on the ground. He has a chance to take a large leap in these rankings after the 2025 season.

6. Nico Iamaleava - UCLA

The dramatic exit we saw from Tennessee by Iamaleava might sour people on the quarterback, but he's still an intriguing prospect next season.

Indeed, Iamaleava didn't live up to the hype in 2024 as he took over as the Volunteers starting quarterback, but he still flashed some massive skill, fueled by an arm that's capable of making any pass.

Iamaleava needs to work on awareness and ball placement, but he's got the potential to be a high-level passer at the next level. He's also a good athlete, rushing for 358 yards and three touchdowns last season.

The big thing he has to prove in 2025 is that he can show up in big games. The only games where Iamaleava threw more than two touchdowns last season were against Chattanooga, UTEP, and Vanderbilt.

5. LaNorris Sellers - South Carolina

Sellers burst onto the scene last year for South Carolina, leading the team to the brink of a playoff appearance and setting high expectations for the Gamecocks in 2025.

Sellers is a really intriguing dual-threat guy, rushing for 674 yards and seven scores while completing 65.6 percent of his pass attempts in 2024.

This guy fits in the "project" mold more than any other quarterback in this class. He has to work on making safer throws and improving his touch. However, he's probably the best athlete among next year's prospects, and that has to count for something.

4. Drew Allar - Penn State

Allar has a very strong arm. He still has work to do to refine that strength, but his completion percentage rose from 59.9 percent as a sophomore to 66.5 percent as a junior as he figured out ball placement.

Allar threw more interceptions last season despite his overall passing volume remaining right about where it was from 2023. While only throwing five more passes overall, Allar went from a 0.5 percent interception rate to a 2.0 percent interception rate.

There are things to clean up, but Allar has an NFL-caliber arm as well as solid mobility. He should get a chance to fight for a starting spot in the league.

3. Cade Klubnik - Clemson

Klubnik is a late riser. The former Austin Westlake product took a couple of years to come into his own at Clemson, but last season finally showed why he was such a highly touted prospect out of high school.

Update on my initial 2026 QB1 race: Currently, it's as close as can be.

Need a playmaker who can create on-demand and dice up isolated DBs? Cade Klubnik is your guy.

Need a strong-armed gunslinger who can carve through coverages with layering and anticipation? Fernando Mendoza. pic.twitter.com/cdK6271o4g

— Ian Cummings (@IC_Draft) May 7, 2025

Klubnik worked on pushing the ball deeper down the field last year. His completion percentage was largely unchanged from the previous season, yet his yards per attempt rose from 6.3 to 7.5 as he looked more comfortable using his arm. In 2023, Klubnik had 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions; last year, that improved to 36 touchdowns and six picks.

The Clemson quarterback also used his legs more last season, rushing for a career-high 463 yards and seven touchdowns. He's a dynamic player who can make defenses pay in a variety of ways, though there is some concern about his relatively slow start prior to last season.

2. Garrett Nussmeier - LSU

Is Nussmeier the next great LSU breakout quarterback? Both Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels had truly transcendent moments in their second seasons as LSU starters, and Nussmeier has a shot to join that list.

Last season, Nussmeier took over as the Tigers starting quarterback and promptly led the SEC in completions and attempts. Of course, that led to him also leading the conference in interceptions, something Nussmeier has to clean up.

Nussmeier has a strong arm and isn't afraid to stand in the pocket and make plays from there. He's a non-factor in the run game, but he's the best pure pocket passer in this class. If he can clean up the turnovers and rein in some of his worst impulses, he can be a Kirk Cousins-type player in the NFL, something I mean as a compliment.

1. Arch Manning - Texas

There are already rumors that Manning could follow the route of his uncles and stick around college an extra year, pushing him back to the 2027 class. For now, though, we're considering Manning as part of next year's group. He sits at the top of the list.

Manning has only made two starts for the Longhorns as he's been buried behind Quinn Ewers on the depth chart, but he showed plenty of upside in those limited snaps.

Like Peyton and Eli, Arch has a gifted arm and is capable of accurately fitting balls anywhere he needs to. Unlike his uncles, he has actual usable legs. He'll have more rushing yards as a rookie than either uncle had in any single season.

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