The NFL Draft has come and gone, and this draft ranks as tied for second-fewest QBs selected in a draft (10) since 2016. There were nine QBs drafted in the “vaunted” 2022 Kenny Pickett QB class. Of course, we had one elite option at the top of the 2026 draft, another surprise mid-first-round choice, and then a lot of guys with high upside but a lot of question marks.
We will likely only get redraft fantasy relevance from one QB in this class in 2026 (unless he sits behind a stylish, Kohl’s-clad veteran QB all season…), but there are several dynasty-relevant players in this class, and there are some big names who could eventually match the hype that once accompanied them.
Editor’s Note: For full, detailed scouting reports on every player we have ranked in our rookie rankings, check out the 2026 Dynasty Pass.
Let’s dig in!
Fernando Mendoza – Las Vegas Raiders
Round 1, Pick 1
To absolutely no one’s surprise, Mendoza’s name was called first on Thursday night, and the old Silver and Black have something to be excited about once again. Mendoza joins new Head Coach Klint Kubiak’s QB-friendly offense, and he will also have the luxury of using new mentor Kirk Cousins’ Great Clips VIP card to “skip the line” for all future haircuts. Talk about a big win for Mendoza!
The biggest question is, when will the Raiders put Mendoza on the field? It seems likely they will start the season with Cousins as QB1 to help take some pressure off Mendoza’s development. Does the team turn to Mendoza around the mid-point of the season (the Raiders have a Week 8 bye)? Do they let him learn all season behind Cousins? Or is this more of an open QB battle? My best guess is the team has a plan to let Mendoza sit for a set amount of time (the bye week seems right), and then they can ease him into action and start rolling out more and more concepts as the season progresses.
Brock Bowers should remain a target hog in this offense, and the arrow is pointing up for Ashton Jeanty as well, as the offense should look more competent all-around this year. The future is certainly bright in Las Vegas. Mendoza will be anywhere from the 1.02 to 1.06 pick in SuperFlex dynasty rookie drafts, but I wouldn’t bother drafting him in 1QB redraft leagues this year.
Ty Simpson – Los Angeles Rams
Round 1, Pick 13
The shocker of Night One came when the Rams took Ty Simpson much earlier than anyone expected, at pick 13. The analysts were bashing the Rams for being in a “win now” window and for not taking a piece that would help them win now. Makai Lemon fell to them, and I know everyone in the fantasy community was salivating. But after Puka Nacua’s off-field issues and Lemon’s bizarre interviews, I think the team knew that wasn’t the direction they wanted to go. The Rams have done an incredible job in free agency historically, and there are still some good offensive weapons available for a win-now team (Jauan Jennings, Stefon Diggs, and whatever is left of Tyreek Hill & Brandon Aiyuk).
I actually love this pick for the Rams, as they will now have the opportunity to do what the Packers did with both Aaron Rodgers and Jordan Love. Simpson will sit behind a Hall of Fame QB and will learn under Sean McVay. What an incredible start to your career! If the knock on Simpson was that he only made 15 collegiate starts, a more deliberate adjustment to the NFL is perfect. This pick gives Matthew Stafford as many more years as he would like to play, and it gives the Rams their future QB. This also gives me a lot more long-term confidence that Puka Nacua will be able to maintain elite dynasty value (off-field issues aside).
From a skills standpoint, Simpson checks all the boxes. He can make all the throws (though his deep-ball strength has been questioned a bit), and he throws with great timing and rhythm. He has a quick release, and he is accurate on the run. He is also extremely heady (a Coach’s son) and processes very quickly. He should be excellent at pre-snap reads and adjustments at the line.
Obviously, this pick doesn’t really impact any of the Rams’ skill position players in redraft leagues, but it should buoy Nacua and Terrance Ferguson’s values. Simpson is already getting gassed-up in dynasty circles, and I’ve seen him mocked as high as the 1.06 in rookie drafts. It is a bit risky, given we don’t know how much longer Stafford will play, but there is big potential for Simpson once he gets his chance.
Ty Simpson Draft Profile Based on Film:
IQ/Mental: A
Arm Strength: A-
Accuracy: A-
Frame: C-
Athleticism: B+
Overall: A-
Player Comp: Stronger Arm Brock Purdy
Best Fits: Rams, Steelers pic.twitter.com/dtHIIHXN6s— Film Watchers (@Filmwatchers1) April 17, 2026
Carson Beck – Arizona Cardinals
Round 3, Pick 1
Welp. The Ballers and Editor Extraordinaire, Julia Papworth, called this one. The Cardinals were linked to Ty Simpson during the pre-draft process, but the division rival Rams thwarted that plan in the middle of the first round. Arizona spent a “Day Two” pick on Beck, making him the third QB off the board.
Beck seemingly played college football since the leather helmet days. He spent most of his collegiate career with the Georgia Bulldogs, backing up Stetson Bennett during the Dawgs’ back-to-back national championship campaigns in 2021 and 2022. Beck guided the Bulldogs to the 2-seed in the inaugural College Football Playoff in 2024, but the team lost in the second round to eventual Runner-Up, Notre Dame. He transferred to the University of Miami for his final season of eligibility, and he took his Miami team all the way to a surprising, if not inspirational, one-possession loss to Indiana in the National Championship.
In both cases, Beck was surrounded by elite offensive weapons (Ladd McConkey & Brock Bowers at UGA, Malachi Toney at Miami) and NFL-caliber defenses. Beck took his fair share of criticism, specifically around his decision-making, but he also made some huge plays in key situations. It seemed that fan bases most familiar with his play style were always nervous when the ball was in his hands with the game on the line. In the NFL, every series carries the pressure of playoff-level college football, and my concern is that Beck just doesn’t have what it takes to be a franchise QB when push comes to shove.
Beck has good physical tools, but I believe his best-case outcome is a Nick Foles arc. If the stars align, I could see Carson Beck showing up as an emergency starter in a Super Bowl and delivering some defensive juggernaut to the promised land. I just don’t think he’s going to be the solution in Arizona. If anything, the pick may have been a maneuver to call Jacoby Brissett’s bluff and bring his price tag down a bit.
Drew Allar – Pittsburgh Steelers
Round 3, Pick 12
Allar was once projected as an elite NFL prospect, coming off a 2023 season where he threw 25 TDs and only two INTs and led Penn State to a 12-3 season. He followed that up with a 3,300-yard, 24 TD, eight INT Junior season, where he led Penn State to the brink of the National Title game in the inaugural CFP. Allar broke his ankle in the middle of what was shaping up to be a disaster of a season for Penn State in 2025. It is believed that the overall decline in play from 2025 had more to do with Allar’s stock dropping than his injury, but getting picked in the middle of the third round wasn’t as much of a slip as projected.
Allar’s reputation among Penn State fans is actually quite similar to Carson Beck’s reputation among his respective fan bases. It just seemed like, in the biggest moments, these guys were as likely to be a liability for their teams as an asset. It is hard to know what to attribute that to, but that absolutely won’t fly in the NFL, where consistency and reliability are key.
All that being said, Pittsburgh is currently trotting out Mason Rudolph and Will Howard at QB, and it would not be shocking to see Allar earn starter snaps by the end of the season, if that remains his only competition. There is at least an outside chance that if Aaron Rodgers returns to Pittsburgh for one final year, Allar could sit and learn this season and work his way up to being a viable option in 2027. He is worth a flyer in dynasty leagues, in my opinion.
Drew Allar has INSANE arm talent pic.twitter.com/aBRdoQSNbD
— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) April 25, 2026
Cade Klubnik – New York Jets
Round 4, Pick 10
Taking a four-year Clemson starting QB in the fourth round seems like a no-brainer. And honestly, it doesn’t hurt the Jets to take a shot at Klubnik here. For as much fanfare as there was around Klubnik, and for as many seasons as the team continued to trust in him as their starting QB, the results were wildly underwhelming. Clemson has all but fallen off the map as a perennial contender on the national scene, and Dabo Swinney’s refusal to put stock in the transfer portal has jeopardized Clemson’s grip on the ACC as well.
Klubnik has a lot of experience under his belt, and he possesses strong physical tools. But his reads are slow and inconsistent, and it would take a true QB-whisperer to get him to starting caliber in the NFL. Maybe Jets OC Frank Reich, a former NFL QB himself, can do the job. I wouldn’t hold my breath. I watched a lot of ACC football over the last four years, and I am just not a believer in Klubnik.
Cole Payton – Philadelphia Eagles
Round 5, Pick 38
This pick was probably less about true QB depth and more about offensive diversity. Payton passed for 2,700 yards (72% completion), 16 TDs, and only four INTs in his lone year as a starter at perennial FCS powerhouse, North Dakota State. He also ran the ball 136 times for 777 yards (5.7 YPC) and 13 more TDs. He’s a big kid at 6’3” and 233 lbs, and I fully expect to see him making appearances for the tush push. Whatever his usage turns out to be, when he is on the field, defenses will have to account for him as a passer and a runner.
Taylen Green – Cleveland Browns
Round 6, Pick 1
Speaking of dual-threat QBs, enter Taylen Green – breaker of Combine drills. Green is no one’s idea of a polished pocket passer, but he did set NFL combine records for QBs in the vertical (43.5”) and the broad jump (11’2”), and he came in second all-time behind only Michael Vick in the 40 (4.36 seconds). This dude is a freak athlete, and you should expect to see him in exotic packages at the next level. The Browns could use as many playmakers as they could get, and they did a nice job of addressing that need in this draft.
TAYLEN GREEN WAS IN VIDEO GAME MODE
(via @SECNetwork)pic.twitter.com/ztPXdLKCMa
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 30, 2024
Athan Kaliakmanis – Washington Commanders
Round 7, Pick 7
Not gonna lie, I had never heard of this human prior to the draft. He sounds more like a Star Trek villain than a QB, but he apparently has prototypical size (6’3” and 215 lbs) and an “above average arm,” per Scouts Inc. Sounds exciting, right? Listen, it’s the seventh round, folks, what do you want from these teams?
Behren Morton – New England Patriots
Round 7, Pick 18
Any time the Patriots take a late-round QB, you have to at least pay attention. Morton led Texas Tech to a four seed and first-round bye in this year’s College Football Playoff. This team was a legit contender, mostly due to its imposing defense, but at least in part because of the air-raid offense that Morton led. We all know Drake Maye is the golden child in New England, but it doesn’t hurt to take a lottery ticket on a proven winner at the college level.
Garrett Nussmeier – Kansas City Chiefs
Round 7, Pick 33
Nussmeier has lived a rollercoaster of a football life, going from potential first-round talent to nearly Mr. Irrelevant in the span of 24 months. The son of New Orleans Saints OC Doug Nussmeier, Garrett flashed as the next great LSU QB in 2024. Injuries and inconsistency in play saw his draft stock tumble in 2025, which led him to be taken in the seventh round by the Chiefs. In many ways, it is an ideal spot, as he will get to sit behind one of the best QBs and play-callers in NFL history. He obviously won’t ever supplant Patrick Mahomes, but if he gets any regular-season snaps while on his rookie deal, he could position himself for a starting opportunity once he reaches the end of his rookie deal.
from Fantasy Footballers Podcast https://ift.tt/Oo4yLJp
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