Top 10 Quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft

By Owain Jones

This is a rough year to need a starter. The 2026 quarterback class lacks depth, with only one guy being discussed at the top. The draft often sees teams reach and force the issue at the position; the inclination is that it won’t happen in April.

If there is value to be found, it will have to be that the middle and later portions of this group have a path to becoming dependable QB2s, spot starters, and roster-stable QB3 types, which matters more than teams admit. If you’re building a room rather than trying to find a savior, Day 3 could quietly be useful. But if you need a franchise guy, this is not the year to be shopping without a plan – unless you hold the No. 1 overall pick.

2026 NFL Draft Quarterback Rankings

10. Cade Klubnik, Clemson

2025 didn’t pan out the way evaluators thought with Cade Klubnik, who was being mocked in the first round during the summer. Right now, he is a Day 3 flier where teams want to take a swing in later rounds. On the field, when the picture is clean and the concept is defined, he can look exactly like what teams want in a modern rhythm passer. He makes on-time throws, keeps his feet calm, and plays a system-friendly style that keeps the offense out of second-and-long. He’s at his best when he’s allowed to play with tempo, timing, and anticipation rather than hunting hero throws.

But the major wobbles happen when he’s asked to see the entire field and win with pure sequencing. He can be late when driving the ball outside the numbers, and when interior pressure collapses quickly, his base can flatten and disrupt his already choppy mechanics. The pathway for Klubnik is to be a quality backup and a spot starter in a timing-based system, but he needs to show more consistent, proactive reads if you want to feel comfortable betting on more than that.

9. Luke Altmyer, Illinois

Luke Altmyer isn’t vying for a starting NFL job right away as a rookie, but his playstyle and temperament could hold down a backup job for a long time at the next level. He thrives in a play-action-heavy system with a strong run game. He’s tough, he’ll stand in and take contact, and he’s comfortable turning his back to the defense, resetting, and attacking intermediate windows off run fakes. In structure, he can keep you on schedule, and you can see why coaches trust him to execute a defined plan.

What holds him back is that he doesn’t consistently drive the ball with zip outside the numbers, and too many throws become “see it, then throw it” rather than anticipation-based access. Under interior pressure, Altmyer’s clock speeds up, and his ball placement can drift. The Illinois passer feels like a developmental QB2 who can run an offense for a month if needed, but he’s not the guy you want to build around when the game becomes pure dropback, and you need the quarterback to elevate the environment.

8. Behren Morton, Texas Tech

There’s a very specific type of quarterback teams keep employed for a long time to sit in their quarterback room as a QB3, and Morton fits that lane. prepared, steady, and structurally sound when the platform is clean. He’s remarkably intelligent, tough, and hard-working, and will be a great clipboard holder at the next level. On the field, he’s a rhythm passer who understands where the answers are built into the concept, and he plays like someone who absolutely wins the week in the meeting room. Quick game, defined reads, protection checks, situational football. He’s comfortable in that world.

The issue is that the physical margin is small, and injuries have already taken bites out of his runway. His arm strength limits what you can ask him to do outside the numbers and downfield, and he’s not going to create much when the play breaks. But if you’re drafting a quarterback to stabilize your room, to be a reliable QB3 with a chance to become a steady QB2 down the road, Morton makes sense. He’s the type of team that teams trust because he’ll be ready when called.

7. Cole Payton, North Dakota State

Cole Payton is a great athlete who is only scratching the surface of what he can become. The athletic profile is real, and you feel it immediately in designed run situations, boots, half-rolls, and any concept that lets him move the launch point. He accelerates like a skill player once he clears the line, and he’s comfortable throwing on the move in a way that gives an offense a different kind of menu. He also has flashy arm talent, especially when working the intermediate areas, as well as aligned mechanics and solid velocity to make high-impact throws outside the numbers in tight windows.

He has all the building blocks, but he’s nowhere near a finished quarterback. 2025 marked his first year as a starter, and with that comes absolute rawness and some awkwardness. The passing reps and progression experience simply aren’t there yet; the mechanics can get messy when the base narrows, and he’s still learning how to win from the pocket rather than simply escape it. He’s the kind of prospect who screams for developmental runway, which is why he’d be the perfect candidate in a spring affiliate league world. However, in the current NFL ecosystem, he’s a Day 3 traits bet with package value early and a long-term path that depends entirely on coaching and patience.

6. Taylen Green, Arkansas

Defenses have to account for Taylen Green even when he’s not playing well, and that’s what makes him such a frustrating evaluation. At his size with his movement ability, he changes run fits, forces spy decisions, and can break a game open in a single scramble or designed carry. When his mechanics are aligned, the arm talent flashes too. You can see the ceiling; there is a way for him to be successful, but he doesn’t do the ‘quarterbacking’ particularly well.

His ball placement volatility shows up on routine throws, decision-making can get spotty even when the first look is clean, and pressure tends to pull his mechanics apart. He’s the classic traits-versus-consistency conundrum, except the consistency issues are extremely loud. In the NFL, Green is either a high-variance developmental starter you build a specific system around, or he becomes a premium backup with package utility. The problem is where do those starts come from to help him evolve. Asking him to be a precision distributor right away feels like wishcasting. But some teams may look to take a developmental flier on him early Day 3.

5. Drew Allar, Penn State

On paper and in flashes, Drew Allar is everything teams fall for. Big frame, clean vision plane, repeatable mechanics, and enough arm talent to execute an NFL passing game without needing it to be gimmicky. When he’s on time in the intermediate area, he can layer throws with the kind of calm rhythm that makes an offense feel stable. He looks like the guy who can run your system without drama.

Then the big-game stuff creeps in, and the evaluation gets uncomfortable. He went missing in spots where the quarterback has to be the adult in the room, and the creative, improvisational upside is limited when things fall off-script. Deep ball velocity and placement can fluctuate dramatically from throw to throw. Quick interior penetration can disrupt his base and timing, and he doesn’t have the mechanics to be throwing off balance. Allar still profiles as one of the few in this class with traits, but he feels more like a developmental backup than a potential starter.

4. Carson Beck, Miami

If you want a quarterback who looks like a quarterback, Carson Beck is your guy. The mechanics are smooth, the release is clean, and the touch on layered throws gives him a functional passing profile when the pocket is intact. He operates on schedule well enough to run an NFL offense in structure, and there’s a calm, veteran feel to how he manages game flow when everything is working.

Where it breaks down is exactly where the NFL thrives: pressure, chaos, and second-reaction football. Interior heat speeds him up, his base discipline deteriorates, and he’s not going to save you with mobility or off-script creation because he lacks the footspeed or creative nous as a runner. He’s a low-ceiling player, but there’s still a role. Beck feels like a true backup with spot-starter value for a team that wants steadiness, not fireworks, and he’ll have real appeal to staffs that prioritize timing and operational competence over raw upside.

3. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

You can win possessions with Garrett Nussmeier because he understands how to stay on schedule. You can tell he is a coach’s son. He’s a smart, intermediate-oriented passer who sees the game well, finds the correct answer within the concept, and delivers with timing when the platform is clean. There’s an efficiency to him that’s easy to trust on normal downs, and his ability to keep an offense out of self-inflicted damage is a real trait between the numbers.

But the ceiling is capped by the physical profile. His downfield accuracy and arm velocity are inconsistent, and pressure can pull his mechanics apart, especially when the pocket compresses quickly. He’s not going to be a dynamic creator once structure breaks, and that limits how much you can ask him to carry. Nussmeier projects as the kind of QB2 coaches like because the offense won’t melt when he plays, but it’s hard to see a long-term starter arc without a big jump in high-end physical answers.

2. Ty Simpson, Alabama

The most impressive thing about Ty Simpson is how comfortable he looks mentally, given his résumé and only 15 career starts. He processes well, understands protections, throws with timing inside the structure, and has the kind of calm command that usually comes from more starts than he has. He doesn’t panic and tends to take profits rather than create unnecessary risk. That “professional” feel is why teams will like him and why he will be the second quarterback taken in the 2026 NFL Draft.

The concern is the same one that always follows limited-start quarterbacks: the track record is ugly. The NFL doesn’t hand out development time at this position anymore, and Simpson’s arm talent and creation ceiling aren’t overwhelming enough to buy him extra patience. He can absolutely carve out a career as a reliable backup because he’ll be trusted to execute the plan, but projecting him as a true long-term starter requires a leap we haven’t consistently seen from this profile.

1. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana

Quarterbacks who control the game mentally tend to look “boring” until you realize how rare it is. Fernando Mendoza plays like he’s operating one step ahead, diagnosing leverage quickly, getting the ball out on time, and making the correct decision without unnecessary movement. The structure stays intact with him because he knows how to keep it that way. He’s the guy you trust on third-and-7 because he’s already seen the answer before the ball is snapped. He is tough, mentally strong, a leader, and a dependable operator.

He is an underrated athlete, but certainly doesn’t have raw athletic juice, and his arm strength is more functional than freakish; the processing and command are what separate him from this class. This is the only quarterback who feels like a legitimate franchise bet, and if you’re comfortable building an offense around timing, anticipation, and rhythm control, he has a pathway to being worthy of the top pick.

OWAIN JONES

College football & NFL DRAFT ANALYST

OWAIN jones COVERS EVERYTHING college football & NFL DRAFT. COMING WITH PLENTY OF EXPERIENCE, OWAIN was PREVIOUSLY a writer for pfsn and WAS THE NFL DRAFT EDITOR AT NINETY-NINE YARDS WHERE HE CREATED DRAFT TALK, YOU CAN FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @OwainJonesCFB_

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