$2.3 million college football QB heavily linked to struggling NFL team

The 2026 NFL draft officially opens on April 23 in the shadows of Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

A prominent discussion around the draft is about the organizations in need of quarterbacks and which quarterbacks are expected to be selected in the first round.

Drafts like 2018 and 2021 have featured five quarterback selections in the first round. The 2022 NFL draft only featured one quarterback (Kenny Pickett) in its first round.

The 2026 NFL draft figures to split the difference. While there are franchises that need new quarterbacks, the number is limited to the ones drafting at the very top of the first round.

As for the quarterbacks who will be selected in the first round, Fernando Mendoza of Indiana and Dante Moore of Oregon are the two who have been connected with the very top of the order. Ty Simpson of Alabama has also been floated as a first-round choice, but his position is less well-known than Mendoza and Moore.

The Athletic compiled a projection of how each NFL team missing the playoffs is expected to approach the draft. The projection linked Moore with the Las Vegas Raiders.

Dante Moore throws a pass against Washington. — Oregon quarterback Dante Moore throws a pass as the Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies | Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Currently, the Raiders hold the worst record in the NFL at 2-14, putting them in line for the No. 1 overall pick. However, one week remains in the 2025 NFL regular season, and with a handful of teams at 3-13, the draft order can change if the Raiders win their regular-season finale.

Unless the season has produced one of the worst records in the league, a starting quarterback is not a position NFL teams look to draft in the first round.

The last multi-year starting quarterback the Raiders drafted was Derek Carr in the 2014 NFL draft, but that was in the second round. JaMarcus Russell is the last quarterback the Raiders selected in the first round, all the way back in 2007. Before Russell, the last quarterback the Raiders drafted in the first round was Todd Marinovich in 1991.

While the trend of the Raiders drafting first-round quarterbacks is few and far between, Oregon is no stranger to having its quarterbacks selected in the first rounds of NFL drafts. Dating back to 2015, Marcus Mariota, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix have all been selected by NFL franchises in the first round of the NFL draft.

Moore began his college football journey at UCLA in 2023. He played nine games for the Bruins and passed for 1,610 yards, 11 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

When Chip Kelly left UCLA to become Ohio State's offensive coordinator that offseason, he transferred to Oregon.

After redshirting in 2024, he became the Ducks' starter in 2025. Ahead of the College Football Playoff quarterfinals, Moore has thrown for 3,046 yards, 28 touchdowns and eight interceptions while rushing for 196 yards and two touchdowns.