Ever since the Las Vegas Raiders earned the right to select first overall in the 2026 NFL Draft, they’ve been on the clock to seemingly take Fernando Mendoza. The Heisman winner and national champion is a sure bet to hear his name called first, and Mendoza’s pro prospects have been broken down multiple times over. But there are other quarterbacks in this year’s draft who also deserve attention.
Nine rookie quarterbacks started NFL games last season, which doesn’t even include J.J. McCarthy and Shane Buechele, who joined the league earlier than 2025 but didn’t play their first games until this past season. So fans should know about signal callers other than Mendoza. Here are the “best of the rest” in the draft.
Ty Simpson, Alabama
While Mendoza is the consensus No. 1 quarterback, Simpson has the honor of being the consensus No. 2. He could very well have been the top QB drafted if he had maintained the exceptional form he displayed at the start of last season. Simpson had a 21:1 touchdown pass to interception ratio over the first nine games of 2025, before faltering down the stretch and posting a 7:4 TD:INT over the final six games.Simpson was second in both passing yards (3,567) and passing touchdowns (28) last year, despite getting next to nothing from Alabama’s rushing offense. He has second-round talent, but some QB-needy team will likely draft, or trade up to draft, Simpson in the first round. The last few Bama quarterbacks to go in the first round—Bryce Young, Mac Jones, Tua Tagovailoa—haven’t exactly lived up to their draft positions, so that’s a stigma that Simpson may have to overcome.
Carson Beck, Miami
A two-time national champion as a backup, Beck nearly won a third title as he led Miami to the CFP National Championship Game last season. He’s the definition of a winner—his 37 victories from 2023-25 are the second-most in FBS history over a three-year span, trailing only Kellen Moore’s 38. Granted, Beck was surrounded by elite talent at Miami and Georgia, and he has a knack for throwing picks in bunches: He had seven games with multiple interceptions over the last two seasons. Beck would be extremely happy to hear his name called before the fourth round.Cade Klubnik, Clemson
Klubnik was once projected as a first-round pick, but the longer he stayed in college, the more his weaknesses were magnified, as was the case with Quinn Ewers. a seventh rounder a year ago. Klubnik is forecast to be a Day 3 pick after going from 36 passing touchdowns in 2024 to just 16 in 2025. He also saw his rushing yards drop from 463 to 94 last year as he battled multiple injuries.If Klubnik can recapture his form as a junior, he could be a steal as a late-round selection. In his favor is that he graduated from a high school that’s known for producing quarterbacks who excelled at the highest level. Klubnik is an alum of Westlake High School in Austin, Texas, which produced two Super Bowl MVP quarterbacks in Drew Brees and Nick Foles.
Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
While many think nepotism could get Arch Manning drafted first overall in 2027, one shouldn’t overlook how it could help Nussmeier in 2026. His dad, Doug Nussmeier, is the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints and has 10 years of NFL coaching experience. If Nussmeier slides in the draft—and he was once thought of as a first rounder—don’t be surprised if the Saints take a flier on him even after taking Tyler Shough a year ago.As for what the younger Nussmeier brings to the table, he looks like a starting-caliber QB against certain squads but not so much versus others. Nussmeier posted a 12–1 record with a 28-8 TD-INT against unranked teams over the last two years, compared with a 2–7 record and 13–9 TD-INT versus ranked foes. But being the son of a coach certainly helps within NFL circles, and Nussmeier should go in the mid-rounds as a developmental prospect.
Cole Payton, North Dakota State
A two-time FCS national champion as a backup—at the same school that produced Carson Wentz and Trey Lance—Payton is a southpaw. He has just 13 games as a starter under his belt, all last season, but had 16 passing touchdowns and 13 rushing touchdowns. He also had a higher passing efficiency (193.8) than Wentz or Lance, or any other NDST QB, ever had during his lone season as a starter. If he makes an NFL roster, Payton would be just the fourth southpaw QB in the NFL, joining Tagovailoa, Michael Penix Jr., and Dillon Gabriel.Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt
The runner-up to Mendoza in Heisman voting, Pavia is statistically the most productive quarterback in this year’s draft. No one had more than his 119 passing plus rushing touchdowns from 2022–2026. His stature is a concern, as he had the exact same pre-draft height and weight measurements as Kyler Murray, but he’s not nearly the twitchy athlete that Murray was entering the draft.Pavia may not even get selected in the seven-round NFL Draft, but he should get a chance as an undrafted free agent, at the very least, and have the opportunity to prove doubters wrong just as he did at Vanderbilt.
