Everyone knows that the Jets’ long term answer at quarterback likely isn’t on the roster. Even with Cade Klubnik looking okay in preseason this year, the most likely outcome is that Klubnik ends up a long-term backup. That’d be a win from a fourth-round quarterback.
With that in mind, the Jets are almost certain to take a quarterback early in the 2027 draft. In fact, with three first-round picks in their pocket, it’s very possible they trade up as high as they can to get the QB of their choice. So with college football returning this weekend, it’s time to take a quick look at the quarterbacks that Jets fans should get to know.
I’ll be going over the 15 draft-eligible quarterbacks in college football that intrigue me the most. This is a comprehensive list, but does not include every draft-eligible quarterback, or even every draft prospect that other evaluators like. Simply a list of guys that I’ll have my eye on.
Arch Manning, Texas
Arch Manning is the top quarterback in this class until proven otherwise. Yes, he struggled at the start of last season, but he improved as the season went on. No quarterback in this class has Manning’s combination of size, athleticism, and arm strength. If a team could build a quarterback in a lab, it’d probably look like Manning.
That said, he’s going to need to improve on how he played last year if he’s going to be the top pick. That’s the expectation, but not a guaranteed result. He was inaccurate compared to his peers at just a 61.4% completion. His 7.8 yards per attempt are not good enough when he’s playing with a top-3 wide receiver corps in the country. Again, he improved as the year went on, but he’s going to need to continue to improve as expected. I’ll be watching to see how quickly, if at all, Manning reaches his potential this season.
Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss
The star of the college football playoffs last season, Chambliss’ numbers say that he should be in the conversation for the top pick in this season. However, Chambliss is small at just 6 foot 1 and 205 pounds. He’s considerably older than your usual prospect at 24 years old this season, the same age as Anthony Richardson, who’s entering a contract year in the NFL. He also played in the very QB-friendly offense of Lane Kiffin.
Now, Kiffin has left and Chambliss will have a chance to at least put that question to rest. But given how strong this draft class is, Chambliss is going to need a Heisman contender season to stay in consideration to be a top pick. Coming into the season, I’d probably have Chambliss going on Day 2.
Dante Moore, Oregon
Arch Manning may be the top pick because of his potential, but if we’re simply going off where guys are coming into the season, Moore is in the driver’s seat. Dante Moore led one of the best offenses in the country last season and would have been the #2 pick in the draft had he come out last season. However, Moore spurned the Jets and chose instead to return to college.
Moore has elite accuracy, good arm strength, good athleticism, but struggles with turnovers and pressure. Not the most shocking scouting report for a top quarterback. If Moore is to be the top pick in the 2027 draft he’s going to need to cut down on his turnovers, but that’s pretty much it. Unless injuries come, expect Moore to be at the very least a top 10 pick next year.
LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
Sellers came into last season as an expected top draft pick. Then he went out and massively regressed from the season before. Less accurate, fewer touchdowns, more turnovers, and significantly worse rushing ability. Still, Sellers has tools that few other quarterbacks have. He’s arguably the best athlete in this quarterback class and his arm strength can rival the best. But raw tools can only take you so far; at some point, Sellers is going to need to turn that into elite production.
After his poor 2025 season, Sellers comes into this season as a likely day 3 pick. However, you simply can’t count out a guy with these kinds of tools putting together an elite season and fighting his way back into contention to be a top pick.
Drew Mestemaker, Oklahoma State
If you’ve never heard of Drew Mestemaker I wouldn’t blame you. The former North Texas quarterback was putting up video game numbers at a small school that nobody but college football psychos were paying attention to. However, Mestemaker made the jump to Oklahoma State in the transfer portal, and now he’s going to have a much bigger spotlight on him.
Mestemaker led the NCAA in passing yards by over 500 yards last season. He led the NCAA in yards per attempt. He was second in touchdowns thrown, and he was top 10 in completion percentage. Again, all against the lesser competition that North Texas played.
Be prepared to hear Josh Allen comparisons here. Mestemaker has the biggest arm in the NCAA. He’s athletic, and the same size as Allen. Mestemaker is, of course, more accurate than Allen was at this point in his career, but Allen was better out of the pocket.
Mestmaker has work to do to make a name for himself as he moves into a Power-4 conference this season. That said, don’t be shocked when he comes out of nowhere to be in the conversation to be a top 5 pick this season.
CJ Carr, Notre Dame
NFL teams had eyes on CJ Carr all of last season. The Notre Dame quarterback was one of the breakout stars of the 2025 season as a redshirt freshman starter. His 9.4 yards per attempt were tied for fourth in the country last season with Fernando Mendoza and Diego Pavia. 24 TDs, only 6 INTs, and 66.6% completion.
Carr’s best tool is his composure in the pocket and his feel for playing the position. While so many others on this list are here because of the potential to be the next unicorn star, Carr is here because his floor is exceedingly high. He simply knows how to play quarterback and showed it in a pro-style system at Notre Dame last year.
If Carr is going to end up in contention to be a top-pick this season he’ll need his production to take another step up. Completion needs to jump over 70%, TDs closer to 30, and INTs to 5 or under if he can. All very possible for Carr entering his second year as a starter.
Julian Sayin, Ohio State
There’s no quarterback in this draft class that’s more “in the eye of the beholder” than Julian Sayin. The Ohio State quarterback was arguably the best in the country last season. He completed over 78% of his passes, threw for 31 TDs, only threw 6 interceptions, and averaged 9.3 yards per pass attempt. Those are first pick in the draft numbers.
However, Sayin is small for the position at just 6 foot 1. He lacks the elite arm strength that others in this class do. He’s also not all that athletic as a pocket passer. Without those NFL tools, his production is muted in NFL Draft discussions.
If Sayin comes out and wins the Heisman this year, NFL teams are going to have no choice but to recognize the talent. That said, plenty of NFL teams won’t consider a quarterback with elite technical ability but lacking in elite tools because their ceiling simply isn’t high enough for them at the top of the draft.
Sam Leavitt, LSU
After the 2024 season, Sam Leavitt looked like a future first-round pick, but 2025 wasn’t the season he was hoping for. He didn’t show much improvement and dealt with injuries, and as a result Leavitt wasn’t able to take advantage of the weak class in 2026.
Now he comes back this season after a transfer to LSU with lower expectations than he should. Leavitt is about to be paired with elite talent on offense and a head coach in Lane Kiffin known for getting the most out of his quarterbacks.
With his athleticism, Leavitt has a chance to have a special season at LSU. He has to stay healthy and avoid big hits, which has been an issue for him. If he can, though, he could have the kind of season that leaves NFL teams asking if his revival is real or just the result of Lane Kiffin. That’s exactly where Leavitt wants to be because it means he’s in first-round conversations again.
CJ Bailey, NC State
We’re getting to the part of the list that’s guys who have a lot of work to be first-round picks and who may not be on the radar for most fans. CJ Bailey is a prototypical NFL quarterback prospect. 6-foot-6, cannon arm, great athlete, and accurate. When he’s on his game, there’s nothing that Bailey can’t do on the football field.
However, Bailey has turnover issues, throwing 19 interceptions in the last two years. He also struggles with his rhythm and timing passes, which limits his efficiency. That’s why his yards per pass attempt was just 7.8 last season, nowhere near as high as his talent says it should be.
Most importantly, Bailey seems to shrink in bigger games. He played both Miami and Notre Dame last year and threw just 1 TD and 5 interceptions in those games. The mental side of the game is also a question. Bailey threw nine interceptions last season; those came in only three games. Bailey doesn’t have the short-memory trait; at least he didn’t last year. Things tend to snowball on him.
Bailey’s ceiling rivals anyone in this draft class. But if he’s going to be a contender to be a first round pick this season, Bailey is going to need to improve his performance against top teams and show he can bounce back when he makes a mistake.
Darian Mensah, Miami
Darian Mensah is the new normal in the NCAA. On his third team in four years, Mensah has bounced around developing in new system after new system. Going from Tulane to Duke and now Miami. Mensah was one of the top quarterbacks in the transfer portal after a record-setting season at Duke.
Mensah is a prototypical pocket passer. When he has a clean pocket, Mensah is more than capable of tearing a defense to shreds. He’s accurate, and he can read through his progressions. This is evident by his 34 TD passes last season, including his bowl game performance, with just six interceptions. He completed a decent 66.8% of his passes as well. However, Mensah has some key issues that limit his NFL ceiling.
Mensah has an average arm at best, and he knows it. Mensah very rarely tests defenses deep and relies pretty exclusively on short and intermediate areas, which limits his efficiency. Yes, he set the Duke record for passing yards in a season last year, but he did so on only 7.9 yards per pass attempt. Don’t confuse his 500 pass attempts for efficient passing. Mensah’s also not a great athlete, and provides little value out of the pocket.
The move to Miami is going to expose Mensah to higher-level opponents. He’s going to need to show he can hang at that level if he’s going to go any earlier than day 3.
Drake Lindsey, Minnesota
If Drake Lindsey has a future in the NFL odds are it’s probably in the 2028 NFL Draft, but I wanted to stick him here because he has tools that are intriguing. Lindsey was a redshirt freshman starter last year on an okay Minnesota team.
Lindsey is a big QB at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, and he has the arm to show for it. His arm strength is his clear best tool, and his deep ball is perhaps the best in this class. He also shows a strong feel for timing and rhythm throws. Though he does struggle with knowing when to take something off his fastball.
Lindsey’s struggles come from his lack of athleticism; he’s a statue in the pocket. And his accuracy, which needs to improve in a big way. He only completed 63.2% of his passes, which dropped his yards per attempt down to a horrible 6.1.
Heading into his second year as a full-time starter, Lindsey has a chance to make a name for himself in an ultra-competitive Big 10 conference. He has some massive improving to do if he’s even going to be a day 2 prospect in 2027, but he’s interesting enough that I’ll have eyes on him.
Byrum Brown, Auburn
Byrum Brown is a fifth-year senior who’s just transferred from South Florida to Auburn. Brown is one of the most exciting quarterbacks to watch in all of college football. An awesome athlete, Brown rushed for over 1,000 yards and 14 touchdowns last season for South Florida. He’s not just a runner though, as he completed 66.8% of his passes for over 3,100 yards and 28 TDs with just 7 interceptions.
Brown has some of the usual running quarterback issues. His health has been on and off and he does deal with fumble issues. He can also be guilty of both bailing on clean pockets to take off and holding onto the ball much longer than he should because he thinks he can escape any late-coming rush. He also has an awkward and very long throwing motion that may not work in the NFL.
Playing against SEC defenses this season, Brown will have a chance to prove that he wasn’t just a mid-major star and is a real NFL prospect. But hey, if the quarterback thing doesn’t work out there’s plenty of teams that’d love to try him out at wide receiver at the next level.
Jayden Maiava, USC
Another fifth-year senior, Jayden Maiava was a breakout star in 2025 for USC. He completed 65.8% of his passes, threw for over 3,700 yards and 24 TDs. However, turnovers were an issue with 10 interceptions.
Maiava needs to work on his accuracy, footwork, and consistency. He can be a bit of a shotgun with his big arm at times, spraying the ball all over and not sure where it’s going. Maiava also doesn’t have much value as a runner, though he does a good job of extending plays for himself. The issue is that when he extends plays, he often takes unnecessary risks with the ball.
Maiava has the arm strength and enough athleticism to be interesting. But in a crowded quarterback class he’s more than likely going to end up a day 3 pick with day 2 upside. That said, if USC has a big year and Maiava leads them to the playoffs, he does have the tools to be in consideration to go earlier than expected.
Josh Hoover, Indiana
Josh Hoover was the unfortunate quarterback who had to succeed Max Duggan after TCU went to a National Championship game. Starting as a redshirt freshman in 2023 he wasn’t very good, but he broke out in 2024 and only improved in 2025.
Hoover is one of the best quarterbacks in the NCAA, throwing for over 3,400 yards in each of the last two seasons and 27 and 29 touchdowns. Just awesome numbers playing in a power-4 program. Which is why Curt Cignetti and the reigning champions recruited him to replace Fernando Mendoza.
Hoover will provide stable quarterback play for Indiana, but that may be it. Hoover, despite his elite production, is prone to turnovers, throwing 13 interceptions last season, third most in the NCAA. He also doesn’t provide anything in the running game. He’s not a statue, but he is a pocket passer. Not great for a guy who stands at 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds.
Like Mendoza before him, Hoover has a chance to turn heads under Cignetti and change the narrative about him. As things stand, he’s likely a day 3 pick at best. But it only takes one elite season for that to change.
Brad Jackson, Texas State
Brad Jackson isn’t on the radar of most. This is an out-of-left-field shot that I’m taking on a guy with tools that I like.
Jackson is just 5 foot 11 and 190 pounds. That’s too small. He also plays at Texas State, a little school with little exposure and almost no chance at the college football playoffs. There are a million reasons not to believe in Jackson.
That said, in his first year as a starter last year Jackson completed 71.3% of his passes, averaged 9.2 yards per pass attempt, threw 21 touchdowns, ran for 744 yards, and added an NCAA high for a QB 17 rushing touchdowns. Those are NFL prospect numbers no matter who you’re playing against.
I’d have loved for Jackson to have transferred to a more high-profile program, but he chose to stay at Texas State again this season. He’s without a doubt in my mind the best quarterback outside the power-4 conferences. Now part of the remade Pac-12 conference, Texas State could make a bit more noise this season. I’ll have my eyes on Brad Jackson this year and into the future as this Redshirt Sophmore is much more than his size and school.