Early Look: 2026 NFL Draft Quarterback Prospects
Welcome to our Early Look: 2026 NFL Draft Quarterback Prospects article series, where we will examine the quarterback position between now and after the NFL Draft in order to examine which ones you should be targeting in your Fantasy Football leagues.
It is the (start of) the most wonderful time of the year! Scouting season and the entire draft process are my happy place, where we get to know the stars of tomorrow and see how the future of the league (NFL & fantasy alike) will take shape. This year’s Quarterback crop is…. Light, but that does not make it any less interesting or worth watching!
Quarterbacks are the start and finish of any dynasty team, especially as Superflex has become the favorite format (aside from IDP, of course, you sickos). Even fine prospects are rocketed up draft boards, with the hope that you can find a franchise cornerstone. This year’s class has one true blue-chip prospect, a couple of fun upside swings, and two pre-season blue-chip hopefuls that got Doofed (hey, foreshadowing). You will consistently hear that this class is disappointing, as Dante Moore, LaNorris Sellers, and Darian Mensah returned to school (Arch Manning was never coming out). Even if that turns out to be true, it does you NO GOOD to ignore the class unless you have a top pick for Mendoza.
Let’s dive into the draft class! Note: all metrics in the chart and analysis below (base and advanced) come from PFF’s database.
Let us at FANTASY IN FRAMES help with the work and give insight into tomorrow’s stars!
Aidan Weingartner and I will be breaking down offensive prospects, which can be found here: 2026 NFL Draft Prospects | FANTASY IN FRAMES.
Check out IDP Hunter’s positional early looks here: 2026 NFL Draft IDP Prospects | FANTASY IN FRAMES.
Aidan’s Superflex Mock v1.0 can be found here: Dynasty Mock Drafts | FANTASY IN FRAMES
And, finally, my IDP Mock v1.0 can be found here: IDP Dynasty Mock Drafts | FANTASY IN FRAMES
| Name | School | DB | TD/INT | Big Time Throw % | Turnover Worthy % | aDoT | Adj Comp % | P2S | TTT |
| Fernando Mendoza | Indiana | 441 | 41/6 | 5.7% | 2.6% | 9.8 | 79.0% | 18.9 | 2.67 |
| Ty Simpson | Alabama | 541 | 28/5 | 6.0% | 3.0% | 8.6 | 75.3% | 18.3 | 2.95 |
| Trinidad Chambliss | Ole Miss | 486 | 22/3 | 6.1% | 2.5% | 8.8 | 75.1% | 12.6 | 2.57 |
| Garrett Nussmeier | LSU | 310 | 12/5 | 4.5% | 3.0% | 7.0 | 77.4% | 19.0 | 2.48 |
| Drew Allar | Penn State | 186 | 8/3 | 2.5% | 2.6% | 8.2 | 72.7% | 13.6 | 2.85 |
| Carson Beck | Miami | 525 | 30/12 | 3.3% | 2.2% | 7.6 | 79.0% | 18.0 | 2.40 |
| Sawyer Robertson | Baylor | 505 | 31/12 | 4.6% | 3.6% | 9.8 | 67.2% | 15.0 | 2.53 |
| Luke Altmyer | Illinois | 421 | 22/5 | 3.1% | 3.1% | 9.3 | 75.1% | 21.5 | 2.80 |
| Cade Klubnik | Clemson | 428 | 16/6 | 3.8% | 2.2% | 8.4 | 77.6% | 11.6 | 2.71 |
| Diego Pavia | Vanderbilt | 454 | 29/8 | 7.4% | 2.5% | 9.8 | 79.2% | 13.3 | 2.87 |
| Athan Kaliakmanis | Rutgers | 440 | 20/7 | 6.6% | 2.4% | 11.2 | 70.8% | 29.5 | 2.77 |
| Cole Payton | NDSU | 300 | 16/4 | 11.3% | 2.0% | 12.4 | 78.3% | 19.6 | 3.33 |
| Taylen Green | Arkansas | 392 | 19/11 | 3.2% | 5.3% | 9.5 | 71.2% | 19.0 | 3.20 |
Fernando Mendoza, Las Vegas Raiders, Indiana (Cal) – 6’5, 225 lbs, projected to be selected 1st overall
Mendoza won the Heisman and just led the Indiana Hoosiers to their first National Championship. He had a magical first (and only) season in Bloomington, following a couple of fun years in Berkley. The Miami native is all but a lock to be the Raiders’ selection at 1.01 in April and should be in the 1.01 conversation for your Superflex leagues.
He is not an elite runner, but has enough athleticism to be a bit of a factor. He has a very good arm with incredible accuracy, traits that do not fade (much) under pressure. The clip below shows both the upper-level arm talent and poise, taking a shot (with pressure throughout the pocket) while uncorking a deep route to the opposite hash.
Mendoza will push the ball down the field, which may get him into more trouble in the league, but the aggressiveness also gives him a high ceiling, much like a (more modern) Matt Ryan. The lack of rushing upside may limit fantasy upside, but the arm talent to all fields gives him high-end QB2 projections with upside if the Raiders can improve their roster & staff. He is the clear QB1 in this class and is a worthy one, at that. His overall talent & ceiling are comparable to Cam Ward from 2025, though they are immensely different players.
Ty Simpson, Alabama – 6’2”, 208 lbs, projected to be selected in the mid-1st to early-2nd round
Simpson is the de facto QB2 of this class following Dante Moore’s return to Oregon. The coach’s son bided his time at Alabama before becoming the starter this season. For a first-year starter, Simpson showed great processing, rarely being fooled by defensive schemes/pressure looks. Even with so few snaps, he gets the game and is able to change protections and calls at the line that most QBs in today’s collegiate game cannot/are not trusted to. He has a live arm, despite a smaller frame and good mobility.
Pressure does affect him somewhat, due to his frame and a lack of reps, but he is courageous inside and outside the pocket. Below, we see the pre-snap processing. He should get the ball out quicker, but the arm allows to recover. In the end, a lot to like and improvements that are far from impossible to make!
There are not many QBs with fewer than 20 starts (Simpson has 15) who have had great success in the NFL, but most of those do not come into the league with the innate knowledge/processing that Simpson does. The lack of reps does not exclude him from being a back-half 1st-round pick, but it must be noted. His numbers and the Alabama offense falling off at the end of the season would set off some initial alarm bells.
However, this is not old Alabama, and the team let Simpson down often, not the other way around. Simpson needs help, but has the highly functional mobility, arm, and mind that have made Brock Purdy a fantasy QB2 who has grown beyond limitations. Simpson projects to go in the 20–40 (Pickett-Shough) range and is worthy of a top-6 Superflex pick, with the caveat that some patience will be required.
Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (Ferris State) – 6’0”, 200 lbs, projected to be selected in the 2nd round
This is where the class moves from potential mid- to high-end starters to project types with a lot of talent but flaws. Chambliss’ first flaw for this class? He may not even be in it! There is some legal mumbo jumbo going on that gives Chambliss a chance of returning to Oxford (though the chances are slight). But for now, we will act as if one of CFB’s best stories of 2025 will be in this class.
Chambliss is a magician. He is small but has a strong arm and great & functional athleticism. The 3-play sequence below (against Georgia in the CFP quarter-finals) showcases his improvisational ability, arm talent, and athleticism. Will this sort of herky-jerky, run-around stuff work in the NFL? Probably not (consistently), but did you see how Caleb Williams tied their matchup with the Rams? Or ever hear of Russel Wilson? Chambliss does not have quite the level of talent as either of those players (not a bad thing, that is a borderline HOFer and an all-time prospect), nor the collegiate track record & film, but the combination of size and off-schedule style has not been disqualifying.
Aside from a smaller frame, Chambliss’ biggest question marks are his age and limited reps. He started for only one season with Ferris State before transferring to Ole Miss to back up Austin Simmons (keep an eye out for him in 2027/28, dude ruled pre-Wally Pipping). He blew up, of course, but we have a similar question as Ty Simpson, with only 28 total starts & 13 of those at the DI level.
Despite this, he shows poise (and escapability) against pressure and processes well. Being in the Lane Kiffin offense leaves him a lot to learn in the league, but he made the jump from DII to the SEC like it was nothing. Who is to say he can’t do it again? In a down class, he may go in the 2nd round, giving him a good chance to start early.
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU – 6’1”, 205 lbs, projected to be selected in the 3rd round
Nussmeier was a popular pick (including me) to go 1st overall before the 2025 season started. LSU, however, had an awful year, starting with an offseason shoulder injury that left the Nuss Buss with the check engine light on. He could not push the ball nearly as well as he had in previous years and was overall more skittish to pressure. We see this in the metrics: his Pressure-to-sack ratio jumped from 9.8% to 19% in 2025 (despite TTT dropping slightly) while his aDoT dropped nearly 3 yards.
As a Nuss-believer, I am choosing to believe the injury and awful Brian Kelley-led environment factored into Nuss’ fall more so than his own talent. However, it would be naive not to factor it in at all or think that the shoulder injury could last into NFL camps.
Looking back to 2024, we see the prospect that was worthy of pre-season 1.01 hype. The arm talent, mobility, and accuracy he possesses would have graded him ahead of Cam Ward for me last season and would keep him as my QB2 currently. He and Ty Simpson play quite similarly with similar frames and the concerns that lead to them. Going back to school made sense for Nussmeier, with less than 20 starts, but the injury and regression made the decision backfire.
If Nussmeier can land in a spot where he can recover and progress as QB2 behind a vet, he has the talent and film to become a fantasy QB2. Even without much of a rushing attack, Nussmeier has the ability to throw the ball around the yard and put up points. He is a priority 2nd-round pick in SF drafts for me, with the hope that he can recover into the Tony Romo shades he showed in 2024.
Drew Allar, Penn State – 6’5”, 235 lbs, projected to be selected late day-2 to early day-3
If I had a nickel for every time a top-10 QB pick in 2025 returned to school to improve their outlook and team performance, but instead returned to an organization that totally blew up on the back of injuries that affected and ultimately ended their season—which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.… In a season that felt scripted by Dr. Doofenshmirtz, Allar joined Nussmeier as an oober talented QB prospect who made the smart decision to return to school and improve their long-term prospects. Penn State, LSU, and Clemson (Cade Klubnik almost fits into the Doofenshmirtz-ism, but was not quite the prospect) cratered, leaving the QB-scape… weird.
BACK TO ALLAR: he is a big-armed athlete who has shades of early Justin Herbert, as he tended to be more conservative and not willing to make mistakes. In the biggest games, that conservative approach left the Penn State offense down, as they lacked the receivers to facilitate easy, safe plays. When he did get more aggressive, turnovers did follow (see the 2024 semi-finals versus Notre Dame), however, this is a bit of a give-and-take. Sometimes you need to learn what your elite arm can and cannot do, and learn from it. The clip above shows some of the explosive arm talent he possesses, with the ability to hit high-level NFL throws with relative ease.
This year, he regressed to a more conservative passer but exploded as a rusher, with 160 yards over the last 3 games. If he can marry some more passing aggressiveness with rushing upside, the 5-star can become a developmental steal of drafts, much like we hope Tanner McKee does from the Eagles.
The Rest!
This QB class does not have a lot of high-end talent that lived up to its potential for various reasons; however, it is pretty darn deep. Say what you will about Carson Beck, but he is a solid backup option, with a real arm and pocket presence. Cade Klubnik is a great athlete who had some 1st round hype going into the year (I was not there, but it existed). Add in B1G QB’s Luke Altmyer & Athan Kaliakmanis and Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson, and you have a few high-upside backups.
All 3 players have NFL-level arms and have some sick throws on tape. They all have flaws (thus they are later-round backup options), but do not be surprised if any of them stay in the league for a long time and potentially become bridge-type assets for NFL & fantasy teams alike.
Finally, we have a “spicy” group of Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia, athletic freak Taylen Green, and another massive North Dakota State QB in Cole Payton. Green and Pavia have some tools and feistiness, but neither has the arm talent (Pavia) or accuracy (Green) to last as more than gadget QBs. Both may have success in the league with a position change, but that is a lot to ask of any athlete. Payton seems to have real arm talent and feel, but as a 1-year starter at the FCS level, how much do we really know? Any of this group (plus some others farther down-board) could blow up through all-star games, interviews, and the pre-draft process as a whole.