If you’re an NFL team looking for a franchise quarterback, and there are quite a few, you may have to wait another year to find one in the draft. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza is the clear QB1, almost certainly heading to the Las Vegas Raiders with the No. 1 overall pick, and with Dante Moore heading back to Oregon, that leaves Ty Simpson as QB2.
Now, that status is not set in stone. First, there’s the Trinidad Chambliss of it all. The Ole Miss QB is pushing for an additional year of eligibility and will only enter the draft if his appeals are denied. In that case, it will be a serious debate between Chambliss, who spent only one season in Division I, and Simpson, who spent only one year as a starting QB in college.
If Chambliss goes back to school, then it's safe to say that Simpson is the favorite to be the second QB taken. However, the pre-draft process is long, and there’s plenty of time for movement, especially at the most highly scrutinized position. There are a few players who could potentially threaten Simpson’s place, and their pre-draft journey started on Tuesday in Mobile at the Senior Bowl.
Simpson, still recovering from multiple injuries he suffered down the stretch of Alabama’s season, did not attend the Senior Bowl, but a few other SEC quarterbacks did. The six QBs at the Senior Bowl are Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia, Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson, North Dakota State’s Cole Payton, Illinois’s Luke Altmyer, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier, and Arkansas’s Taylen Green.
It’s unlikely that anyone from that group works their way into Round 1 or even early Day 2 discussions, but there are two who have a chance.
Nussmeier had a terrible 2025 season. He regressed terribly from his 4,000-yard, 29-touchdown 2024 campaign, finishing the year with 1,927 passing yards and 12 touchdowns to five interceptions. However, there are ways to explain his shortcomings away.
First, LSU’s offensive line, which lost a ton of NFL talent in the offseason, struggled mightily in 2025. Amid a dysfunctional season, the O-line was arguably the biggest weakness. Nussmeier was pressured on 25.5 percent of his dropbacks, not a terribly high rate, but unsustainable when you consider his 2.48-second time to throw.
The pressure and hits also had their effect. Nussmeier came into the year battling injuries and never got to 100%. He battled an abdominal injury most of the year, which zapped his velocity and affected his accuracy. If he’s back to 100 percent for the pre-draft process, there could be teams that dismiss last season and draft Nussmeier off his 2024 tape and upside.
Taylen Green is a total wildcard in the draft. He’s an erratic player who finished 2025 with twice as many turnover-worthy plays as big-time throws. His decision-making leaves a lot to be desired, and he has a long way to go as a passer. Yet, NFL teams could get swept up in the potential of his physical tools.
At 6-foot-6, Green is an elite runner both in the designed game and as a scrambler. He was playing in a terrible situation at Arkansas, even if he had a good play-caller in Bobby Petrino and a decent offensive line. You have to be willing to make quite a few excuses if you’re going to draft a player with Green’s statistical profile, but athletes like him at the quarterback position don’t come around often.