2026 NFL Draft looks thin at QB, but that shouldn't prevent teams from taking one

The 2026 NFL Draft looks even thinner at the most important position after Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore confirmed Wednesday he's returning to school next season. 

QB-needy teams may now start looking ahead to 2027. On paper, the class appears much deeper at the position. Moore (6-foot-3, 206 pounds), Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning (6-foot-4, 219 pounds) and Ohio State QB Julian Sayin (6-foot-1, 208 pounds) headline the group. Despite that, needy franchises should consider selecting a QB at some point in the 2026 draft.

Projecting a draft's QB depth is a crapshoot. Just look at the 2026 draft, scheduled April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. It was supposed to be a solid year for QBs, but things haven't panned out. 

2026 NFL Draft was viewed as the year of the QB in preseason, but that hasn't been the case 

In his way-too-early 2026 mock draft, The Athletic's Dane Brugler had five QBs going in the first round: Manning, LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina Gamecocks), Drew Allar (Penn State Nittany Lions), Garrett Nussmeier (LSU Tigers) and Fernando Mendoza (Indiana Hoosiers).  

Brugler has since become less bullish about the QB depth in 2026. In a mock draft he published Thursday, the draft guru included two passers. 2025 Heisman winner Mendoza (6-foot-5, 225 pounds) goes No. 1 overall to the Las Vegas Raiders, while the Pittsburgh Steelers select Alabama Crimson Tide QB Ty Simpson (6-foot-2, 208 pounds) with pick No. 21. 

"And just like that, the 2026 NFL Draft — from a QB perspective — looks a lot like the 2025 class," wrote The Athletic's Nick Baumgardner after Moore's decision. "With Indiana's Fernando Mendoza starring as Cam Ward, and no one starring as a clear QB2." 

Teams that took QBs in 2025 didn't regret it

The Tennessee Titans selected former Miami Hurricanes standout Ward (3,169 passing yards in 2025, a franchise rookie record) with pick No. 1 in the 2025 draft. The New York Giants then took ex-Ole Miss Rebels QB Jaxson Dart with pick No. 25.

Adding Dart was considered risky for New York. Draft experts questioned his NFL-readiness because he didn't play in a pro-style offense under former Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin (now with LSU). But picking the QB has worked out for the Giants. 

Dart had 24 TDs (15 passing and nine rushing) in 14 games in 2025. His trajectory was key in the Giants landing new head coach John Harbaugh, who is finalizing a deal with the team. 

After the Giants selected Dart, the New Orleans Saints took former Louisville Cardinals QB Tyler Shough with pick No. 40. That may be a steal. In nine starts, he went 5-4 and tossed 10 TD passes. In his 2025 re-draft, Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski had Shough go No. 3 overall to the Giants, behind Ward and Dart. 

Pro Football Hall of Famer Ron Wolf, Green Bay Packers general manager from 1992-2000, believed in taking a QB in the draft each year. Talented QBs, of course, are the most valuable commodity in the NFL, and having multiple gives a team trade chips it can use to keep building its roster. 

So, the 2026 class isn't as strong at QB as it was supposed to be. That shouldn't prevent teams from drafting one. Organizations can't always count on the following draft being better at the position, and sometimes, prospects exceed expectations.