The 2026 NFL Draft is looking like heaven for quarterback-needy teams.
CSN’s way-too-early Top 100 prospects lists 10 quarterbacks, including five in the top 25, and our way-too-early mock draft sees five quarterbacks being taken in the first round of the upcoming draft.
Dane Brugler Projects Five QBs in First Round of 2026 NFL Draft
The Athletic’s Dan Brugler is also high on the 2026 quarterback class, projecting five quarterbacks to go on Day 1.
Brugler, who set the draft order “by flipping the current Super Bowl odds,” sees the New Orleans Saints selecting Texas’s Arch Manning No. 1 overall. While Arch has only attempted 95 passes for the Longhorns, he’s expected to be far and away the best at his position in college football this year, replacing now Miami Dolphins quarterback Quinn Ewers.
The son of Cooper Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning would be headed to the home of grandpa Archie Manning to try and break the records that Drew Brees has since shattered. He’d be the first first-round quarterback taken by the Saints since they selected Archie in 1971.
South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is picked as the second quarterback off the board, No. 2 overall, to the New York Jets. Sellers heated up down the stretch for the Gamecocks last year, and with another year of experience under his belt could see himself move further up draft boards in 2025.
After a “lull” in quarterback selections, the two teams who just selected prospects Jaxson Dart and Cam Ward—the New York Giants and Tennessee Titans—select Utah offensive tackle Spencer Fano and Clemson EDGE T.J. Parker No. 3 and No. 4. The Cleveland Browns bring back the quarterback talk.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar is expected to be the next quarterback off the board at No. 5 to the Browns. The Ohio native is a much more unrefined product, but with two full seasons of experience under his belt — and another to come, there will be plenty of high-level tape for scouts to look at.
KEEP READING: Alabama Leads the Way With 8 Players on CSN’s 2026 NFL Draft Top 100
At No. 16 overall, Brugler projects the fourth quarterback to go off the board as the Pittsburgh Steelers take LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier. With pick No. 27, he projects the Los Angeles Rams to select Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza.
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