Mel Kiper updates top-10 quarterback rankings for 2026 NFL Draft, debuts new No. 1

Ty Simpson: Alabama Quarterback | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

In between Week 7 and Week 8 of the college football regular season, unofficially the midway point of the year, ESPN's resident NFL Draft aficionado and expert, Mel Kiper, updated his list of the top 10 draft-eligible quarterbacks so far this season.

2025 featured a rough start for many of the quarterbacks who came out of the summer hot with all the hype. Guys like Drew Allar and Garrett Nussmeier no longer top the list, while a slew of other guys have emerged in their first full seasons as starters — or at new stops altogether. Below, you can see Kiper's full top 10 QB rankings, which have a pair of Big Ten signal callers leading the way...

You can view Kiper's full updated 2026 NFL Draft Big Board right here.

Mel Kiper's Top 10 QBs

1. Dante Moore (JR) | Oregon
2. Fernando Mendoza (SR) | Indiana
3. Ty Simpson (JR) | Alabama
4. LaNorris Sellers (SO) | South Carolina
5. John Mateer (JR) | Oklahoma
6. Carson Beck (SR) | Miami
7. Garrett Nussmeier (SR) | LSU
8. Sam Leavitt (SO) | Arizona St.
9. Jayden Maiava (JR) | USC
10. Drew Allar (SR) | Penn St.

Kiper's current list is quite the departure from his preseason expectations. Before the year, he predicted that six quarterbacks would be selected in the first round of next spring's NFL Draft. At the time, he believed the contenders to be... Sellers, Nussmeier, Allar, Leavitt and Mendoza... plus Nico Iamaleava and possibly Arch Manning.

Well, those last two are off his radar while the first five all still populate the top-10 list... just not at the top. Instead, underclassmen like Dante Moore, Ty Simpson, Sellers and Mateer have all surged while many of the veterans have underwhelmed.

Why Dante Moore at No. 1?

Oregon quarterback Dante Moore | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite a setback in Autzen against Indiana, Mel Kiper is still all-in on Oregon quarterback Dante Moore after a fast start for the junior UCLA transfer in his second season with the Ducks but his first as QB1.

"Moore is a third-year sophomore with some impressive traits," Kiper wrote in his synopsis. "His accuracy has been solid all season, and he shows good touch on his deep ball. Moore can throw from different arm angles with precision and delivers strikes while rolling either left or right out of the pocket. He can scramble a bit too."

That's a lot to love for NFL scouts. While Moore is still a baby as a power conference starter and could easily return to solidify his skills and confidence with a senior season, if he remains atop Kiper's list, it'd be hard not to head to the pros and cash those even bigger checks.

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