The annual search for new faces at the quarterback position is officially underway as a part of the NFL Draft process. The 2025 college football regular season is two-thirds over already — a surreal reality about football season. It’s almost always over before we know what hit us. But for the NFL Draft process, the actual season is just the beginning.

It does, however, serve as the bulk of a player’s resume. So with that in mind, who has been making the most of their time thus far this fall? Who has lost ground due to unexpected struggles or performances that have failed to meet the expectations of recruiting?

As we turn the calendar to November, here are my top-10 quarterback prospects currently eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Kyle Crabbs’ Top-10 quarterback rankings for prospects eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft

1. Quarterback Dante Moore, Oregon Ducks (6030, 206 lbs unofficial)

Moore is a redshirt sophomore who has just 424 career pass attempts as October rolls to a close. He is not the biggest, nor the most dynamic. But he has what I believe to be the right blend of fluidity, smooth release, RPMs on the ball, and the big-play ability to be a franchise quarterback.

I like a number of the passers in this year’s class, but the list of potential “franchise” guys is pretty short. Moore, despite his lack of experience, is currently my favorite. With his youth and inexperience, it’s very easy to picture a world in which Moore returns to Oregon for the 2026 season. But if the Ducks make a deep playoff run and he’s able to stack more high-quality reps deep into the postseason, he could (should?) be tempted to make a run at being “the man” in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Moore’s youth is a double-edged sword, too. He’s just 20 years old for teams who like getting that extra runway on their rookie contract players.

2. Quarterback Ty Simpson, Alabama Crimson Tide (6020, 208 lbs unofficial)

It’s hard to deny that while Moore is my favorite, Simpson has the best current resume for the 2025 college season. He’s a high operator at the line of scrimmage, he’s shown a flair for big plays, and he’s played incredibly efficient football against a murder’s row of SEC opponents thus far this season. It’s been very impressive to watch Simpson, a redshirt junior, tear things up.

But it’s also worth noting that he’s somehow got 100 less career attempts (311 total) than Moore does. Simpson is a redshirt junior who is even less physically assuming than Moore is while offering what I believe to be a lesser arm, too. He makes up for some of that discrepancy with what he does between the ears despite his lack of experience.

He, like Moore, will be faced with the “to declare, or not declare?” dilemma. His decision, should his play sustain itself, should be made a little easier by his age — he will turn 23 years old in December relative to Moore turning 21 next May.

3. Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Hoosiers (6050, 225 lbs unofficial)

College Football’s current darling is led by Mendoza, a redshirt junior who feels like the most likely of the top-four ranked quarterbacks in this class to enter the 2026 talent pool. Mendoza, who is a transfer from Cal, has been red hot with his production while pushing the ball down the field and he’s got the best win in the land — a road victory in Autzen Stadium against the Ducks.

Mendoza’s football character and leadership are well polished already, it doesn’t take long listening to him talk to get the sense that he’s a very traditional “aw, shucks” leader who coaches are probably going to eat up in a good way.

He should finish this season north of 1,000 career pass attempts, which sets the stage for him to have a healthy body of work — he just won’t necessarily tug at the heart strings of evaluators who are looking for a little extra juice outside of structure. But at 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Mendoza has prototypical size to win from the pocket.

4. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina Gamecocks (6030, 240 lbs unofficial)

Stop me if you’ve heard this before — a physically gifted passer who simply doesn’t have enough reps for a high-confidence level in his projection. Sellers, a redshirt sophomore who won’t turn 21 until this summer, has all the goods. He’s an explosive runner, he’s a powerful presence in the pocket, he’s got a hammer for an arm. Traits-based scouts will love the raw tools on display.

But Sellers is an incredibly difficult study right now because of the limits of the South Carolina offense around him. He’s spending much of his time trying to sort through offensive issues and he struggled to move the ball against both LSU and Oklahoma in October — before seeing an upset bid against Alabama in which he used his legs more fall short.

Sellers is the most physically talented of the top four. But he’s got the furthest to go and the muddiest tape. I’d lean him to go back at this stage barring major changes.

5. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, LSU Tigers (6010, 205 lbs unofficial)

Hark! A senior! Nussmeier takes the crown as my current top-ranked senior quarterback, the redshirt senior passer was an intriguing option at this time last year before a rough finish to the season derailed a potential entry to the league after taking over for Jayden Daniels in 2024. Nussmeier is a fifth-year senior with over 1,000 career attempts already — but that experience only comes with two seasons as a full-time starter and he’ll now be 24-years-old on draft day.

He’s not particularly good outside of structure but he operates the line of scrimmage pre-snap like a coach on the field because, well, his dad is an NFL offensive coordinator. You wish he was bigger, faster, and had a stronger arm. But he’s capable of running an NFL offense for sure and he illustrates very good touch and accuracy over the middle of the field while offering great toughness to stick in and hit throws while taking hits in the pocket.

6. Quarterback Drew Allar, Penn State Nittany Lions (6050, 235 lbs unofficial)

Allar’s senior season at Penn State came to a screeching halt with an ugly leg injury against Northwestern. Allar, who considered entering into the 2025 NFL Draft before ultimately coming back for another run at a championship with Penn State, didn’t look the same this year. He appeared to regress and didn’t take the steps forward many wanted to see in accuracy and decision making this year in his play throughout the first half of the regular season.

But boy, oh boy, does he throw a pretty ball. And he’s a big, strong dude working from the pocket and the ability to drive throws into the tightest of windows. He’s absolutely worth a bet at some point on Day 2 of the NFL Draft assuming his medical checks come back clean amid his recovery from a broken left ankle.

7. Quarterback Brendan Sorsby, Cincinnati Bearcats (6030, 235 lbs unofficial)

Of all the quarterbacks on this list, perhaps none will have you more on the edge of your seat on any given Saturday than Sorsby. He’s a wild stallion of a quarterback with twitchy athleticism, a snappy and quick release, creative throwing ability thanks to his baseball background, and the kind of arm arrogance that allows him to hit some “wow” throws every week.

It’s rough around the edges. The footwork isn’t clean with consistency. There’s too many casual reps with his mechanics, which contribute to a wider spray chart of accuracy than you’d like. The decision making of taking hits needs to be better.

But holy smokes, Sorsby is fun. And he’s TALENTED. I want to bet on this kid. He’s a redshirt junior who spent two seasons at Indiana before transferring to Cincinnati and he’s experiencing leaps in efficiency as both a passer and runner every year. This is officially the dark horse of the class.

8. Quarterback John Mateer, Oklahoma Sooners (6010, 224 lbs unofficial)

If I did this exercise at the end of September, Mateer would be in the top-3. I really want to love his game but the stretch of play he’s experienced since a return to the lineup from a thumb injury has derailed his momentum. Mateer has the gunslinger mentality and unexpected open field juice that allows him to be a dual threat passer. But he struggles to layer throws, needs more judgement on his runs to avoid big hits, and must become more addicted to finding completions and taking what the defense gives him on any given play.

I love the swagger and the toughness. I love his leadership style and I appreciate the physical traits. But in his first season at Oklahoma, the redshirt junior has suffered a fate similar to Nussmeier last year. He’s struggled more the deeper into the schedule we’ve gotten. It makes him a strong candidate to return and try to polish up his game.

9. Quarterback Taylen Green, Arkansas Razorbacks (6060, 224 lbs unofficial)

Speaking of dual threat quarterbacks, Taylen Green is all about tools. The former Boise State Bronco is in his second year at Arkansas and has set a career mark for rushing yards in a single season (603). He’s also pacing for a career-best in completion percentage, touchdown percentage, passer rating, and yards per attempt.

Consistency, particularly as a passer, is the big hiccup for this redshirt senior. For every game like the one he played against Texas A&M, where he took the Aggies to the brink, there’s a game like Notre Dame or Auburn — where he threw a combined four interceptions while completing an average of 57% of his passes.

He’s got a big arm and ample open-field juice but he’s still sorting out how he solves pressure and can be forced into some bad decisions — Green is not a precise player at the position right now but oozes potential for anyone bold enough to take him on.

10. Quarterback Cade Klubnik, Clemson Tigers (6020, 210 lbs unofficial)

Where, oh where, is the guy who played for the Tigers down the stretch into the College Football Playoff? Where’s THAT guy? We haven’t really seen him this season but I still consider myself intrigued by Klubnik’s potential and the flashes he’s put on display during his four-year career with Clemson because I can readily admit that the offense in Death Valley feels broken. He might be a better product once you get him away from that situation. Klubnik was at his best in 2024 and I’d be willing to take a Day 3 flier on finding out if I could catch that lightning in a bottle.

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