Jump to a quarterback1. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU2. Drew Allar, Penn State3. Cade Klubnik, Clemson4. Sam Leavitt, Arizona State5. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana6. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina7. Nico Iamaleava, UCLA8. Taylen Green, Arkansas9. Miller Moss, Louisville10. Sawyer Robertson, Baylor
Did you get your fix of Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart? The NFL draft’s quarterback class always demands attention. In the 2025 cycle, that meant choosing a flavor and, in some cases, placing cautious optimism behind the preferred choice.
Ward, Sanders, Dart and the rest of the 2025 draft class are just starting their professional careers. One year prior, they found themselves on lists like this: way-too-early rankings off the film from the season before.
Now, it’s the 2026 quarterback class’s turn.
Let’s address a few topics.
Texas quarterback Arch Manning isn’t on this list. It’s not an oversight or a knock on his talent. Manning has pedigree, and his early flashes at Texas are promising. But they’re also just that: flashes. He’s started two games, thrown 95 career passes and will be entering his first season as the full-time starter. Before jumping to any conclusions about the redshirt sophomore, let’s give him a chance to assemble a valid sample size.There will be redshirt sophomores included on this list. Arizona State’s Sam Leavitt, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers and UCLA’s Nico Iamaleava each started and impressed in 2024. Of course, whether they enter the 2026 draft remains to be seen, but they’re certainly on professional radars.There are several quarterbacks on this list with the tools to become the No. 1 passer in the class or be chosen in the first round. Part of summer scouting is projecting players’ growth in specific aspects of their game. Not all of them make that step, and their stock suffers as a result.
Here’s an early look at the top 10 quarterbacks in the 2026 draft class:
1. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
The son of six-year NFL quarterback and New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, Garrett Nussmeier is a natural-born signal-caller. He’s a fluid passer with a quality arm, and he has tremendous feel for pressure and maneuvering the pocket at 6' 2" and 200 pounds. Nussmeier is accurate to all parts of the field, though he needs to find more consistency with his vertical shots. He’s comfortable threading tight windows and throwing into small gaps in zone coverage. Nussmeier occasionally bails out of the pocket prematurely, and he’s a drifter who throws from an unsettled foundation too often. He needs to hasten his progressions and prove he can process full-field reads in 2025.
