Dante Moore Addresses NFL Draft Decision Amid Jets Speculation

The Oregon quarterback could return to Eugene for another season under coach Dan Lanning instead of entering the draft.

Dante Moore threw for 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 15 games for Oregon this season. / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore has a big decision to make.

Following the No. 5 Ducks’ 56–22 season-ending loss to No. 1 Indiana on Friday night at the Peach Bowl, Moore now has the option to either return for another year in Eugene or enter the 2026 NFL draft.

The Peach Bowl was more than a battle between two College Football Playoff semifinalists. It also was a showcase between the two top quarterback prospects eligible to enter the NFL draft in Moore and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza.

Capurso: Grading Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore Performances in Peach Bowl

Mendoza certainly looked the part of the projected No. 1 pick, throwing for 177 yards and five touchdowns on an efficient 17-of-20 passing while punching Indiana’s ticket to the national championship. Moore, however, struggled a bit, throwing for 285 yards and two touchdowns but coughing up the ball three times with an interception—a pick-six on the first play of the game—and two fumbles.

Still, Moore is expected to be drafted early—albeit behind Mendoza—if he decides to enter the NFL. While the Raiders are projected to select Mendoza with the No. 1 pick, the quarterback-needy Jets are sitting right there at No. 2 and will have the chance to draft Moore if he declares.

Lyons: What’s Next for Oregon? Early Look at Ducks’ Roster, Outlook for 2026 Season

After the Hoosiers’ red and white confetti fell at the Peach Bowl, Moore was asked about his future on the gridiron.

“I’m going to just soak this moment up, most importantly, giving my hugs and thank yous to my teammates,” Moore said in his postgame press conference in Atlanta. “But at the end of the day, I don’t know my decision yet. I’m gonna talk to Coach [Dan] Lanning and my family and everybody. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to think about that right now. I want to think of my teammates and give love to them.”

Dante Moore on his future:

“At the end of the day, I don’t know my decision yet.” pic.twitter.com/HAkl4Z6Cw1

— Andy Staples (@AndyStaples) January 10, 2026

Moore’s NFL draft decision isn’t as simple as it once was

Up until a couple of years ago when the NIL era began, Moore’s decision would be a no-brainer: Enter the draft and start raking in millions of dollars on a rookie contract at the next level. But in 2026, it’s not that simple.

The going rate for an elite college football quarterback in 2026 is hovering somewhere around $5 million, the new market set by new Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby earlier this week. Breaking it down by average annual value of NFL rookie contracts, a $5 million deal to return to Oregon would be worth about the same as a mid-first round pick. Falcons linebacker Jalon Walker, the No. 15 pick last year, is making an average of $5.1 million per year over his rookie deal.

If Moore was selected with the No. 2 pick by the Jets, as projected by Sports Illustrated’s Daniel Flick in his latest mock draft, he would likely earn a salary in the range of 2025 No. 2 pick Travis Hunter, who will make an average of $11.7 million over the first four years of his rookie contract. However, Moore can look ahead to his potential NFL landing spot—the Jets at No. 2—and make a choice about where he would prefer to spend 2026.

Would he rather return to Oregon for another season and make, say, $5 million before declaring for the ‘27 draft? Or would he rather head to the NFL draft and potentially be selected by the Jets, who have a rough history of developing quarterbacks?

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Jets’ bleak recent history at developing quarterbacks

Since 2013, the Jets have selected four quarterbacks in the first two rounds of the NFL draft. None of them panned out in New York.

In that 2013 draft, New York selected Geno Smith out of West Virginia with the No. 39 pick in the second round. Smith spent four years with New York before parting ways in 2016. He bounced around the NFL until landing with the Seahawks in 2020. Two years later, Smith took over Seattle’s starting job and won the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year award. He was voted to the Pro Bowl in back-to-back seasons, starting the trend of former Jets quarterbacks thriving elsewhere.

Christian Hackenberg was a second-round pick by the Jets in 2016 (at No. 51) but he never took an NFL snap before exiting the league in ‘18.

In 2018, the Jets selected Sam Darnold out of USC with the No. 3 pick. Darnold struggled as the starting quarterback for head coaches Todd Bowles (2018) and Adam Gase (2019 and ‘20). He was traded to the Panthers in 2021 and threw just as many interceptions (16) as touchdowns (16) over 18 games in Carolina. But in 2023, it all changed for Darnold, who learned in San Francisco under coach Kyle Shanahan and served as Brock Purdy’s backup. Darnold turned his career around in 2024 with the Vikings, notching a career-high 102.5 passer rating and winning 14 games, and he signed a three-year contract with the Seahawks last offseason and led Seattle to the NFC’s No. 1 seed in 2025.

Last and, well, probably least, the Jets used the No. 2 pick of the 2021 draft to select BYU quarterback Zach Wilson. Wilson hasn’t found the same career resurgence as Smith or Darnold, but he certainly found the same level of success—or lack therof—in New York. Wilson threw for more interceptions (25) than touchdowns (23) over 33 starts from 2021 to ‘23. He spent the 2024 season as Aaron Rodgers’s backup, and he attempted just 11 passes in 2025 for the Dolphins despite sharing a quarterback room with the benched Tua Tagovailoa and seventh-round pick Quinn Ewers.

Perhaps skipping the 2026 NFL draft wouldn’t be the worst decision for Moore after all.

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