Much like any other year, it’s no secret that the first overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft will more than likely be a quarterback. The only issue, however, is that no one knows for certain which one it will be.
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As a result of him winning the 2025 Heisman trophy and giving the Oregon Ducks a 56-22 thrashing in the semifinals, the oddsmakers and talking heads who exist across various sporting networks have the Las Vegas Raiders calling Fernando Mendoza’s name at the top of the night on April 23rd. According to the former pro quarterback turned analyst, Brady Quinn, there’s another signal caller who fans should be paying attention to as well.
“If Dante Moore comes out, I’m not so sure he’s not going to be the number one overall pick,” Quinn stated during his latest appearance on the Dan Patrick Show. Now, in Quinn’s defense, his take did precede the game-opening pick-six that Moore served up to the Hoosiers on Friday night.
Seeing Mendoza completely outduel Moore in a head-to-head battle will likely have an impact on Quinn’s next analysis, but even still, he seems to believe there’s enough talent here with Moore to justify the conversation.
“I think there’s a real argument to be made in his upside, in his skill set. He to me that if he came out, he would be the purest passer. I think he’s got a strong arm. I think he layers his throws better… I sit there and look at Dante Moore, and I say ‘Man, that’s the guy I feel like probably has the higher upside.”
Mendoza may be leading the FBS in passing touchdowns and passer rating, but apart from that, there’s not much else that separates him from Moore on the stat sheet. Both men were able to complete a little more than 72% of their passes this season, but it was Moore who ultimately finished with 108 more passing yards through 14 games played.
Throw in the fact that Moore was still able to close the 2025 season with the sixth-highest passer efficiency rating in the nation and avoid landing in the bottom 50 in terms of interception percentages, and there’s certainly some semblance of a claim to be made here. Unfortunately for Moore, the one-sided nature of this year’s Peach Bowl will now see recency bias working against him, as all anyone will be thinking about is the lazy ball that he threw to the flats at the beginning of a semifinal contest.
It may not be very comforting, but if you take a look over at the regular season MVP race in the National Football League, you’ll find Matthew Stafford, who, despite leading the league in passing yards, touchdowns, and first down passes, is currently the betting underdog to win the award behind Drake Maye, simply because of a poor performance against the Carolina Panthers late in the season.
