These seven college football QBs have the talent to emerge as potential first-round picks in 2026 NFL Draft

The first round of the 2025 NFL Draft begins Thursday from Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Tennessee Titans are expected to select Miami quarterback Cameron Ward with the No. 1 overall pick. Around this time last spring, Ward wasn’t viewed as a first-round pick after an up-and-down season at Washington State. 

Ward transferred to Miami for his final college season, raised his draft stock and will likely be the first quarterback off the board later this week.

CBS Sports identified Ward as a name to watch for the 2025 NFL Draft last spring. In 2023, we told readers to keep tabs on LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels, who went No. 2 overall to the Washington Commanders in the 2024 NFL Draft and won AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year honors after a magical first season in the league.

Looking ahead to the 2026 NFL Draft, there isn’t a consensus QB1 in the class. Penn State’s Drew Allar, Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier are viewed as the top contenders who could emerge as the top quarterback from next year’s class.

Those three players — similar to Ward and Daniels — decided to return for one more season to raise their draft stock. Many others could see their stock rise this fall with strong performances, but as of now, these seven quarterbacks are best positioned to jump into the conversation as potential first-round selections.

Garrett Nussmeier, LSU

Nussmeier was on this list last year and decided to bypass the 2025 NFL Draft to return to school for another season. After waiting his turn to become QB1 at LSU, Nussmeier showed flashes of why he could be a Day 1 pick. He threw for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns to 12 interceptions during the 2024 campaign and guided LSU to a 9-4 finish.

What jumps out about Nussmeier is the arm talent, but his overall accuracy on short, intermediate and deep throws will need to be improved. Nussmeier completed just 64.2% of his attempts last season. Improving that area of his game could be the difference in being selected on Day 1 or 2 next spring.

Drew Allar, Penn State

Penn State’s season ended against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff in the worst possible way. Allar made an ill-advised throw during the final minute of regulation, which led to Notre Dame kicking a game-winning field goal. Allar completed just 12 passes in that loss to Notre Dame, none of which went to wide receivers.

There’s still strong reason to believe Allar can be a first-round pick next spring. He has done a good job as a starter taking care of the football; Allar has thrown just 10 interceptions in his first two seasons as a starter and improved his completion percentage from 59.9% in 2023 to 66.5 last year. Penn State’s offense will revolve around the run game, but the key to reaching the CFP again starts with Allar taking another jump as a decision-maker.

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Cade Klubnik, Clemson

Klubnik showed significant improvement in Year 2 as Clemson’s starting quarterback. He threw 36 touchdown passes and only six interceptions en route to Clemson winning the ACC title and reaching the CFP for the first time since 2020. Klubnik has outstanding arm talent and can layer the football to all areas of the field. He is also a threat with his legs; he rushed for 463 yards and seven touchdowns last fall.

What separates Klubnik from the rest of the pack is the talent he will have around him. The Tigers return their top three pass catches from last season in Antonio Williams, Bryant Wesco Jr. and T.J. Moore. Wesco, a former top-60 high school recruit in the 2024 recruiting cycle by 247Sports, has a real chance to solidify himself as one of the top wide receivers in the country this fall with Klubnik at the helm.

The talk of someone being a “Heisman dark horse” at this time of year can be repetitive, but there’s strong reason to believe Mateer has all the goods to take home college football’s top individual honor. Mateer excelled in his only year as a starter at Washington State, completing 64.6% of his passes for 3,139 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also set a WSU quarterback program record with 15 scores on the ground.

Oklahoma hired former Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle in a similar role this offseason, making Mateer the logical fit to run his offense in the SEC. That continuity should help OU bounce back from another lackluster season. This is a make-or-break year for Brent Venables at Oklahoma. He has the star quarterback and running back (Cal’s Jaydn Ott) to make some real noise in the SEC.

Arizona State was one of the best stories in college football last season. Part of that success was because of the unsung rise of Leavitt, a former Michigan State quarterback who transferred to ASU after the 2023 campaign. Leavitt finished with 2,885 yards passing and 24 touchdowns to just six interceptions and ranked 11th in the country in QBR (81.6) in his first season as a starter.

Leavitt can make quick decisions and reads, but he is also a threat with his legs. He finished with 443 yards rushing and five more scores on the ground. With star running back Cam Skattebo off to the NFL, Leavitt will be relied on to make more splashy plays.

Beck was the top-ranked quarterback in the transfer portal before Nico Iamaleava had a high-profile exit from Tennessee earlier this month. Miami helped Ward become the (future) No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Can Beck have similar success? The blueprint is there.

Getting back to first-round status starts with Beck being fully healthy. He missed the end of Georgia’s season because of a UCL tear in his right elbow that required surgery. Beck was viewed as a potential first-round pick coming into last season, but an up-and-down final year at Georgia made it logical for him to return to school. 

Beck has the talent to be a first-round pick. He completed 72.4% of his passes and threw just six interceptions during the 2023 season. Last year, his completion percentage dropped and the number of interceptions he threw (12) doubled.

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Sellers is a fascinating prospect. At 6-foot-3, 240 pounds, he certainly has the size to be successful at the next level. Sellers has incredible arm talent and is a powerful runner when he decides to keep it. Where Sellers can improve in 2025 is putting touch on his deep throws. 

Sellers has just 303 career passing attempts at the college level. He completed just under 66% of his attempts last season and threw for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns. His best game came against Missouri, where he threw for a career-high 353 yards and five touchdowns. Similar to Mateer, he’s in the Heisman dark horse area.