2026 NFL Draft: Rankings, Best Team Fits for Top-12 Quarterbacks

Of the top 150 NFL prospects on my final Big Board, you’ll see only eight quarterbacks included, with just three among the first 100. If the draft falls that way, it will be the first since 2000 in which there weren’t at least four QBs among the first 100 players selected. Most years, the first round is the round to watch for quarterbacks. And this year is no exception, as where (and when) Ty Simpson is selected will generate huge ripple effects in this draft. But I expect the biggest run on QBs to transpire in the fourth round. We’ve documented the ups and downs of this year’s class since the beginning and end of the season. Now, with the draft finally upon us, I have grades on the top-12 draftable quarterbacks. Here is how I rank them and why. 12. Mark Gronowski, Iowa Projected round: 7/UDFAPro comp: Jaren HallBest team fits: San Francisco 49ers, Dallas Cowboys With an NCAA-record 58 career wins, including two national championships at South Dakota State prior to finishing his collegiate career at Iowa, Gronowski certainly is a winner. And he possesses NFL size, athleticism and toughness, as well. Despite what his career 103-27 touchdown to interception rate and 63% competition percentage suggest, however, Gronowski lacks ideal accuracy. He has the dual-threat ability and intangibles to stick as a backup and developmental project, warranting late-round consideration. 11. Joe Fagnano, Connecticut Projected round: 6-7Pro comp: Bailey ZappeBest team fits: New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans, New Orleans Saints A traditional pocket passer with good anticipation, zip and accuracy to attack short and intermediate zones, Fagnano’s game translates better to the NFL than some of the other Day 3 candidates. However, he’s an older prospect (he turns 25 this month) and one who faced limited competition over his career, playing four seasons at Maine (an FCS school) before transferring to UConn, where his production was boosted by the presence of speedy wideout Skyler Bell. But make no mistake, Fagnano’s production was eye-popping at Connecticut: a 48:6 TD-INT ratio over two seasons as a starter. He varies his release nicely and takes care of the football, rarely putting it in harms way. Fagnano further helped his stock at the East-West Shrine Bowl. 10. Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt Projected round: 6-7Pro comp: Max DugganBest team fits: Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets Padilla is the underdog that draws so many to sports in the first place. He’s a 5-foot-10, 207-pound former zero-star recruit who built himself into a Heisman Trophy finalist and four-time team captain with victories over both Alabama and Auburn in his career. He’s best-suited for an RPO attack, showing courage and craftiness as a runner (31 rushing TDs over his career), as well as good accuracy on the move. However, that accuracy wanes as the passes get deeper, and I think he’ll struggle with the tighter windows in the NFL. He’s at his best playing off script, and not every team will be comfortable with his improvisational style and personality. That said, I love his competitiveness and creativity. 9. Haynes King, Georgia Tech Projected round: 6Pro comp: Tyrod TaylorBest team fits: Buffalo Bills, New York Giants, Denver Broncos It isn’t often that a quarterback leads a Power Four conference in rushing touchdowns, but that was the case with King, whose 15 scores on the ground was one more than he threw last season. Those numbers belie King’s intriguing accuracy (and willingness to test tight windows) on short to intermediate throws. He can throw the ball with zip and touch alike. He lacks the arm strength of some of this year’s other draftable quarterbacks, however, and, as such, is a bit scheme dependent. As his rushing totals suggest, King is a dynamic athlete for the quarterback position, clocking in at 4.46 seconds in the 40-yard dash. He began his college career as a four-star prospect for Texas A&M but struggled with injuries there before transferring to Georgia Tech, where he steadily developed into one of the most productive quarterbacks in school history. His work ethic, competitiveness and dual-threat abilities could help him find a niche in the NFL, though likely as a backup. 8. Cade Klubnik, Clemson Projected round: 5 (No. 145 prospect rank)Pro comp: Brett HundleyBest team fits: Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers, Minnesota Vikings Quarterbacks often get too much of the praise when things go wrong and Klubnik is a perfect example of how they can get too much of the blame when a team struggles. He was far from faultless for the Tigers’ disappointing 2025 campaign, watching his passing touchdowns plummet from 36 as a junior to just 16 (in 12 games), despite his completion percentage jumping to a career-high 66%. At 6-foot-2, 207 pounds, Klubnik lacks ideal size and possesses only average arm strength. But he’s a quality athlete with good accuracy on short to intermediate passes, including on the move. Like a lot of athletic passers, he has a tendency to stick too long on his initial read, then skip too quickly through secondary progressions and then start to drift out of the pocket, dropping his eyes and looking for an escape route. He got into some bad habits trying to put a Clemson offense that didn’t have the dynamic playmakers it once had onto his back. I still see starter-level potential, but Klubnik needs some refining and a better supporting cast to get back to his prior playmaking self. 7. Drew Allar, Penn State Projected round: 4 (No. 120 prospect rank)Pro comp: Landry JonesBest team fits: Pittsburgh Steelers, Cleveland Browns, Los Angeles Chargers If one were to draw up the prototypical NFL quarterback, it might look a lot like Allar. He checks in at a solid 6-foot-5, 228 pounds, and he has an absolute bazooka of a right arm. He can make every throw in an NFL playbook and enters the league as a three-year starter with a sterling 61:13 TD-INT ratio. But as I told FOX’s Eric Williams in his piece on this year’s Most Underhyped and Overhyped Prospects, I’ve yet to see Allar show the requisite instincts to translate his talent into consistent high-level play. He gets frazzled when his initial read is taken away and too often resorts to checkdowns, rather than trusting his arm (or teammates) to make critical plays. He looked like a future first-round pick back in 2023 but he’s regressed since, and his senior campaign was abruptly cut short due to a broken ankle that kept him from participating in the All-Star games and pre-draft workouts. There is no denying Allar’s allure. No one should be surprised if he is drafted earlier than my ranking. But I think he’s further away than his traits and stats suggest. 6. Cole Payton, North Dakota State Projected round: 4 (No. 116 prospect rank) Pro comp: Jake LockerBest team fits: Green Bay Packers, Pittsburgh Steelers Payton is similar in many ways to the aforementioned Taylen Green in that he is a classic dual-threat quarterback whose ability as a runner is every bit as valuable as his current passing skills. His first start at the collegiate level, in fact, came at running back, not quarterback. He is a left-handed power thrower still learning the nuances of passing the ball with timing and precision. But there are some “wow” throws on tape — and an intriguing variety of them — including the standard verticals that require vision and arm strength, but also post-corners needing touch and rollouts that show off his ability to throw accurately on the move. A physical, determined runner, Payton gives off some Taysom Hill vibes, but I think he has more upside as a passer. He’ll require patience, but he is arguably the most intriguing developmental quarterback of this class. 5. Taylen Green, Arkansas Projected round: 4 (No. 113 prospect rank) Pro comp: A mix of Randall Cunningham and Anthony RichardsonBest team fits: Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens, Philadelphia Eagles There are few players in this draft at any position with more highlight reel plays than Green, a remarkable 6-foot-6, 227-pounder who enters the NFL with a staggering 94 overall touchdowns scored over four seasons spread between Arkansas and Boise State. His explosive playmaking ability was obvious on tape, but the numbers he produced at the Combine were stunning nontheless — including a 4.36 40-yard dash and 43.5-inch vertical jump. Teams looking for a true dual-threat quarterback could see Green as a potential superstar. The concern is that Green remains quite raw as a pocket passer given his 46 career starts. He typically waits for his receivers to get open, rather than anticipating windows, staring down his primary targets and allowing defensive linemen opportunities to bat down more balls than you’d expect for a quarterback of his height. He is too quick to drift out of the pocket and drop his eyes to scramble rather than stepping up against pressure to allow pass-catchers time. Green is a lottery ticket that could pay off big, but he requires an offense catered to his skill set and there are only so many of those in the NFL. 4. Carson Beck, Miami Projected round: 4 (No. 107 prospect rank)Pro comp: Mason RudolphBest team fits: Miami Dolphins, Washington Commanders Beck personifies the philosophical divide about this year’s quarterback class. Critics are quick to point out that Beck struggled in big moments. Optimists can easily counter that his cerebral play and precision passing out of pro-style offenses are why his teams consistently played in big games in the first place. Those who believe in “QB wins” as a metric note that Beck was 37-6 as a starter over his career at Georgia and Miami. Beck looks the part at nearly 6-foot-5, 233 pounds, with a snappy over-the-top delivery and good accuracy to all levels of the field. He is as good throwing the ball off play-action as any quarterback in this class, showing the pre-snap recognition that comes with facing elite competition (in games and practices) over his career. Beck is a classic rhythm passer who is fantastic when he feels comfortable in the pocket, but hasn’t consistently shown the “ice in his veins” poise to project as a frontline NFL starter. 3. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU Projected round: 2-3 (No. 70 prospect rank)Pro comp: Drew LockBest team fits: New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers Given where he is likely to be drafted, Nussmeier could very well prove the best value of this year’s quarterback class. That is a bold statement, indeed, given that he was benched for the final month of his final campaign. But similar to Ty Simpson, Nussmeier wasn’t surrounded by the typical LSU supporting cast — the Tigers struggled with drops, inconsistent blocking and a poor running game. An abdominal strain suffered early on limited Nussmeier’s arm strength, but that didn’t stop him from taking the risky throws into coverage that had earned him a first-round grade in my initial QB Tiers article entering the season. Nussmeier lacks ideal size at just under 6-foot-2, 203 pounds, and his gunslinger mentality is as likely to get him into trouble as it is to help him succeed, but I want that kind of “let it rip” confidence at quarterback. The son of an NFL (and CFL) quarterback and current offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints, Nussmeier enters the league as mentally prepared for the complexities of the pro game as anyone on this list. At worst, I see a longtime quality backup with a chance to “surprise” as much more. 2. Ty Simpson, Alabama Projected round: 2 (No. 33 prospect rank) Pro comp: Jimmy GaroppoloBest team fits: Arizona Cardinals, Los Angeles Rams Undersized and entering the NFL with just one season as a starter, Simpson’s faults are easy to see. But so too are his strengths, including the quick mental processing that comes from being a coach’s son, as well as impressive accuracy both in the pocket and on the move. He is a talented passer with as many “big-time throws” in 2025 as any quarterback in this class. And while Alabama is perennially loaded with talent, Simpson wasn’t blessed with the same caliber of a supporting cast as his recent Crimson Tide predecessors, often throwing his receivers open rather than having them break off the huge plays on their own that can pad a QB’s statistics. The track record for quarterbacks entering the NFL with less than 20 collegiate starts is frightening, and the 6-foot-1, 212-pound Simpson (15 starts, all in 2025) was beaten up by the end of this season. It takes some faith to project him as a future franchise quarterback — but the passing ability and moxie are there. 1. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana Projected round: 1 (No. 4 prospect rank) Pro comp: A mix of Jared Goff and Andrew LuckBest team fit: Las Vegas Raiders At nearly 6-foot-5, 236 pounds, Mendoza certainly looks the part of an NFL quarterback, and he possesses the arm strength and accuracy to star at the highest level, as well. It is his intangibles, however, that have me most excited. The composure he showed in guiding Indiana to its first national championship project well to handling the mental rigors he’ll face at the next level. There is no denying that Mendoza was aided by a relatively simple RPO-based Hoosiers offense, but too often his critics fail to mention how quickly he adapted to this scheme after beginning his career at Cal, where he also showed future NFL starter ability. No one should expect Mendoza to be a franchise savior — he lacks the elite physical traits of No. 1 overall candidates of prior years. But he’s smart, tough, determined and poised. If he’s given a quality supporting cast, the Mendoza magic can continue in the NFL.