Packers Draft Preview: Quarterback Prospects to Replace Malik Willis

The Green Bay Packers moved preemptively to replace their superb backup quarterback, Malik Willis, by signing Desmond Ridder and Kyle McCord. What does that mean for the 2026 NFL Draft?

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Here’s a look at the state of the Packers and the prospects they might consider.

Packers Depth Chart

Jordan Love: Is entering Year 4 as a starter and is coming off his best season in the NFL. He is a borderline top-10 quarterback after ranking fifth in the league in passer rating and second in EPA per dropback in 2025.

Desmond Ridder: A third-round pick by the Falcons in 2022, he has made 18 career starts, including 13 in 2023 with Atlanta. The Packers signed him late last season.

Kyle McCord: A sixth-round pick by the Eagles last season after a prolific final season at Syracuse, he spent his rookie season on Philadelphia’s practice squad. The Packers signed him after the season.

What Do Packers Need?

Backup competition after Malik Willis signed with the Miami Dolphins in free agency.

Green Bay Packers quarterback Malik Willis (2) runs the ball against New York Giants cornerback Deonte Banks. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Packers probably at least feel decent about having Ridder behind Love. He’s thrown 588 passes in his career, which is about a full season’s workload. He’s thrown for 4,002 yards with 16 touchdowns, 14 interceptions, 63.6 percent accuracy and an 82.6 passer rating.

That might not sound great, but it’s worth nothing that’s much better than Wills during his two seasons with the Titans.

General manager Brian Gutekunst doesn’t have a lot of draft capital. Will he use some of it on a quarterback to push Ridder and McCord? Or will he count on his coaches to work the same magic that brought the best out of Willis?

Ranking the Quarterback Prospects

There’s no point whatsoever in talking about Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. So, skipping ahead and skipping those whose traits don’t fit Green Bay’s historic preferences:

Carson Beck, Miami

Height and weight: 6-foot-4 3/4, 233 pounds. Hands: 10. 40: NA. RAS: NA.

Beck threw for 11,725 yards and 88 touchdowns in his career, which included five years at Georgia (including 2023 and 2024 as a starter) and 2025 at Miami, when he threw for 3,913 yards with 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions on impressive 72.4 percent accuracy to help the Hurricanes reach the national championship game. He averaged 3.9 yards per carry.

According to PFF, there were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025 (Beck’s number), with Beck ranking 11th in completion percentage and 17th in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Beck ranking sixth in completion percentage and 27th in passer rating. He tied for the lead with 13 deep-ball touchdowns.

Importantly, his turnover-worthy play count went from 20 in 2024 to 12 in 2025 (3.8 percent to 2.2 percent). He tied for the sixth-lowest turnover-worthy-play percentage in the draft class. His 77.9 completion percentage in the play-action game is No. 1 in the class.

“It’s been a super-cool journey,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “Obviously, it feels like I was in college forever, but everybody's path is different and I'm truly blessed and grateful that my path went the way it did.

“And it's a lot easier to say that looking back at it now, but when you're in the middle of a grind of a season or you're in the middle of the rehab and I can't throw a football for four months [due to elbow surgery] and you don't know what your future's going to look like, to get to this point and to have been able to battle through that and fight through that and have the success on some of these great teams that I've been a part of, it’s been a really cool experience.”

Cole Payton, North Dakota State

Height and weight: 6-foot-2 3/4, 232 pounds. Hands: 10 1/4. 40: 4.58. RAS: 9.87.

As a first-time starter in 2025, Payton completed 71.9 percent of his passes for 2,719 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. He’s a big-time running threat, as well, as he used his size and speed to run for 777 yards and 13 more touchdowns.

The critical numbers are ridiculous, with the caveat of the Bison playing a lower rung of competition. He completed 62.5 percent of his passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield and 66.7 percent of his passes when under pressure. When blitzed, he threw 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.

“It starts with the chip on my shoulder,” he said at the Scouting Combine. “I’m uber-competitive. I love this game and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make that roster, to make an impact on a team, and to eventually be a starting quarterback in this league.”

Taylen Green, Arkansas

Taylen Green (10) of Arkansas throws the ball on the run during the Senior Bowl. | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

Height and weight: 6-foot-5 3/4, 227 pounds. Hands: 9 7/8 hands. 40: 4.36. RAS: 9.99.

After three seasons at Boise State, including as a starter in 2023, Green transferred to Arkansas. The efficiency numbers aren’t impressive – 60.4 percent with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions in 2024 and 60.7 percent with 19 touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2025. His turnover-worthy-play percentage increased from 3.6 to 5.3, which is the highest of the quarterbacks in this story.

But he led stretch-the-field attacks that resulted in conference-leading marks in yards per completions with Boise in 2023 and Arkansas in 2025. He averaged 9.0 yards per rush. He’s a big-play machine, whether it’s through the air or on the ground (2,403 rushing yards and 35 rushing touchdowns the last four seasons).

There were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025, with Green ranking 34th in completion percentage and 27th in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Green ranking 25th in completion percentage and 35th in passer rating. The Packers pressed the ball down the field with Love and Willis, so Green could be a good fit stylistically.

Drew Allar, Penn State

Height and weight: 6-foot-4 3/4, 228 pounds. Hands: 9 7/8. 40: NA. RAS: NA.

Allar posted a rather obscene 49-to-10 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 2023 and 2024, but he missed the final seven games of last season following a broken left ankle. In 45 career games with 35 starts, he completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 7,402 yards with 61 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He added another 12 rushing touchdowns for his career and averaged 6.7 yards per rush in 2025.

All of that sounds good, and he’s got the arm talent and mobility. However, his inconsistency leaves you wanting more. When pressured, he completed only 44.4 percent of his passes with a 74.9 passer rating in 2025. (With a full season in 2024, it was 46.9 percent with a 68.8 passer rating.) On deep passes, he completed 38.5 percent of his attempts (but with a 119.6 passer rating).

“The first thing is my ability to process information,” he said at the Combine. “Our offense at Penn State, they put a lot on me in terms of the verbiage of our play calls and responsibilities, pre-snap and post-snap. So, I feel like I’ve been really well prepared for that aspect because, obviously, the NFL they’re going to put a lot on the quarterbacks mentally. Physically, I have a lot of trust in an ability, in my arm talent, and I’ve been working relentlessly to get as consistent as I can.”

Cade Klubnik, Clemson

Height and weight: 6-foot-1 7/8, 207 pounds. Hands: 9 1/4. 40: 4.69. RAS: 7.53.

In four seasons, Klubnik threw for 10,123 yards with 73 touchdowns and 24 interceptions on 64.0 percent accuracy. He added another 17 rushing touchdowns. He had a blockbuster 2024 campaign with 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns vs. six interceptions. In 2025, though, he slipped to 2,943 yards with 16 touchdowns and six interceptions.

He tied for the sixth-lowest turnover-worthy-play percentage in the draft class.

There were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025, with Klubnik ranking 19th in completion percentage and sixth in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Klubnik ranking 30th in completion percentage and 28th in passer rating. He averaged 3.5 yards per rush.

By historic preferences, he might be right on the fringe for the Packers based on height and hand size.

Joey Aguilar, Tennessee

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) dives over Illinois defensive back Tanner Heckel (16) to score a touchdown. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Height and weight: 6-foot-2 5/8, 229 pounds. Hands: 9 5/8. 40: NA. RAS: NA.

Aguilar played seven collegiate seasons, with four in junior college, two at Appalachian State and, finally, one year at Tennessee (after originally enrolling at UCLA). He was outstanding for the Volunteers, completing 67.3 percent of his passes for 3,565 yards with 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He averaged 5.5 yards per carry, as well.

There were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025, with Aguilar ranking eighth in completion percentage and fifth in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Aguilar ranking fourth in completion percentage and 12th in passer rating. Aguilar and Carson Beck led the nation with 13 deep touchdowns.

Aguilar played through a benign tumor in his shoulder, which he had removed after the season. “If you've got one time to play at Tennessee, there's no backing down. So, I just played through it, put the team first, and carried on through the season.”

He had the third-lowest turnover-worthy play in the draft class, behind Georgia Tech’s Haynes King and UConn’s Joe Fagnano.

He’ll be 25 as a rookie.

Sawyer Robertson, Baylor

Height and weight: 6-foot-3 5/8, 216 pounds. Hands: 9 3/8. 40: 4.64. RAS: 9.72.

After two seasons stuck on the bench at Mississippi State, Robertson started four games for Baylor in 2023 before taking over for his final two seasons. In 2025, he completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 3,681 yards with 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He averaged 4.6 yards per rush.

There were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025, with Robertson ranking 18th in completion percentage and 10th in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Robertson ranking 28th in completion percentage and 21st in passer rating.

The intangibles are there. He was the Big 12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year and a finalist for the William Campbell Trophy, which is better known as the Academic Heisman.

“I want to get drafted. I worked my tail off to get drafted, and I want to be able to tell my kids that one day,” he said at pro day. “But if that doesn’t happen, I just need a foot in the door. I just need one opportunity. No matter how long it takes, (whether it’s) first year or Year 7, whenever that opportunity does come, I'm going to make the most of it, regardless of whether I get drafted high, whether I get drafted low or whether I get drafted at all.”

Joe Fagnano, Connecticut

Height and weight: 6-foot-2 3/4, 226 pounds. Hands: 9 1/4. 40: 4.83. RAS: 8.34.

Having missed most of the 2021 and 2023 seasons due to injuries, Fagnano was your run-of-the-mill seventh-year senior in 2025, with four seasons at Maine and his final three seasons at UConn. He had a big-time final season with 3,448 passing yards on 69.0 percent accuracy with a staggering 28 touchdowns vs one interception. Yes, a 28-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

There were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025, with Fagnano ranking 24th in completion percentage and ninth in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Fagnano ranking 30th in completion percentage but 10th in passer rating.

He’ll be 25 and has below-average hand size and athleticism but, with the second-best turnover-worthy-play percentage in the draft class, his ability to take care of the football is second to none.

“Sometimes you just have to take a step back and take a deep breath,” he said at pro day. “I’m only going to go through this one time. It’s something that I’ve worked for pretty much my entire life to get this opportunity. It’s cool. Sometimes you can get kind of carried away in all the noise, and sometimes you have to take a step back and realize you’re living out some childhood dreams.”

Jack Strand, Minnesota State Moorhead

Height and weight: 6-foot-3 7/8, 243 pounds. Hands: 10. 40: 4.78. RAS: 9.17.

Strand starred at Bloomer (Wis.) High School before throwing for 13,161 yards and 126 touchdowns in four college seasons. He was a first-team Division II All-American as a senior with 3,546 yards and 42 touchdowns. He tossed double-digits interceptions each season.

He was a finalist for the William Campbell Trophy (aka the Academic Heisman). He has the arm talent to make it – he threw one more than 70 yards at pro day – though he’ll have to hone in on the fundamentals because he won’t be able to win on arm talent alone, like he did in college.

“The feedback was to continue to work on the under-the-center stuff and get really consistent with my drops, because sometimes I’ll be taking a dropback and my feet will still be a little off, or it’s like I’m kind of indecisive at the drop that I want to do,” he said via InForum.com.

“So, that’s something I’ve been working quite a bit on, just being consistent. That has to be second nature for me because that’s not something they really have time to teach at the next level, because it’s all about concepts and reading defense and stuff.”

Mark Gronowski, Iowa

Iowa Hawkeyes quarterback Mark Gronowski (11) scrambles against Nebraska Cornhuskers linebacker Marques Watson-Trent. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

Height and weight: 6-foot-2 1/8, 226 pounds. Hands: 10 1/2. 40: 4.71. RAS: 9.60.

As a sixth-year senior, Gronowski transferred to Iowa, where he started all 13 games. He completed 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,741 yards with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but accounted for another 16 touchdowns on the ground. Between South Dakota State and Iowa, he won 58 games. He’s not a great passer but he’s a physical runner who took care of the football and was asked to make NFL-style reads.

There were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025, with Gronkowski ranking 26th in completion percentage and 33rd in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Gronowski ranking 22nd in completion percentage and in passer rating.

Behren Morton, Texas Tech

Height and weight: 6-foot-1 3/4, 221 pounds. Hands: 9 1/2. 40: 4.89. RAS: 5.40.

Morton threw for 8,989 yards and 71 touchdowns in five seasons, with most of that production coming during his final two seasons. In 2025, he completed a conference-best 66.0 percent of his passes for 2,780 yards with 22 touchdowns and six interceptions.

There were 41 FBS-level quarterbacks in this draft class with at least 89 under-pressure dropbacks in 2025, with Morton ranking fifth in completion percentage but only 21st in passer rating. There were 42 quarterbacks who threw at least 33 passes 20-plus yards downfield, with Morton ranking 16th in completion percentage and 10th in passer rating.

Morton, who had a predraft visit with the Packers, has an injury history and lacks an elite arm, but played his best in leading the Red Raiders to the playoffs.

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