CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Big Ten’s primetime schedule the last two weeks might have been the best spotlights possible for the two biggest risers in my quarterback rankings.
Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza was lights out vs. Illinois, throwing for 267 yards, five touchdowns and just two incompletions.
The next week, Oregon’s Dante Moore was unfazed by the noise at Penn State, completing 29 of 39 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns in a 30-24 double-overtime win.
While we knew about Mendoza coming into the season and the potential he had to rise, Moore might be the biggest surprise on this list.
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We saw glimpses of his potential when he played nine games and threw 213 passes as a true freshman for Chip Kelly at UCLA in 2023. The East Cleveland native and Detroit high school superstar then transferred to Oregon and has done very well in succeeding, ironically enough, Browns rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
The way both Mendoza and Moore have performed as September ends adds excitement to a quarterback class that desperately needed it after slow starts. LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier hasn’t taken the step he was expected to take, Cade Klubnik’s Clemson is arguably the most disappointing team in the country and Penn State’s Drew Allar really hasn’t looked much different than he did earlier in his career.
Even South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers has been up and down. But while progression has been slower with him than you may like, it’s been there.
But for this quarterback class to live up to the promise it had coming into the season, multiple QBs need to be in the first-round conversation.
Sellers remains squarely in that range. But at this moment, Mendoza and Moore are joining him in that discussion. In time, they could also push him even harder for the QB1 slot.
Here are my latest 2026 NFL Draft quarterback rankings.
1. LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina
Height, weight: 6-3, 240 pounds.
2025 stats: 58-87 (66.7%), 886 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT; 48 carries, 98 yards (2.0 avg.), 1 TD.
Despite some stiff competition now from Mendoza and Moore, Sellers maintains the top spot on my list from July. He hasn’t been as good as expected to be, but he clearly has made progress in 2025.
It’s early in the season, but in a schedule that has featured four Power 4 teams including three SEC opponents, his completion percentage, yards per attempt and touchdown-to-interception ratio have improved from 2024.
Diving into the deeper numbers from Pro Football Focus, he has cut down on turnover worthy plays while being a more accurate passer in intermediate range (54.7% completions in 2024 to 77.3% in 2025).
However, he just has not been as good a runner as last season. His yards per run has been cut in half.
To say Sellers has a gauntlet coming up in the immediate future is an understatement. The Gamecocks play five consecutive top-15 opponents, three on the road, from Oct. 11 to Nov. 15.
Sellers doesn’t have the type of talent around him that the other QBs on this list do, but he has the individual talent to keep his team in games and possibly steal them.
2. Fernando Mendoza, Indiana
Height, weight: 6-5, 225 pounds.
2025 stats: 89-122 (73.0%), 1,208 yards,16 TDs, 1 INT.
Mendoza is squarely on the heels of Sellers right now for QB1 in this class, particularly after his performance the last two weeks vs. Illinois and Iowa. While he was consistently impressive vs. Illinois, he saved his best for last with a game-winning touchdown drive against a pesky Iowa team on Saturday.
What may hurt Mendoza’s evaluation in the months to come is how RPO-heavy Curt Cignetti’s scheme is. But when you look purely at traits, Mendoza has them in spades.
His arm is strong enough, he has high-end accuracy and while he’s not as mobile as Sellers, he can make plays with his legs.
There’s also something to be said for being crisp in an RPO offense that demands quick decisions.
With more tests coming against Oregon and Penn State in the weeks to come, Mendoza will have more opportunities to stack good performances against good teams like he did vs. Illinois.
3. Dante Moore, Oregon
Height, weight: 6-3, 206 pounds.
2025 stats: 100-134 (74.6%), 1,210 yards, 14 TDs, 1 INT.
Moore has forced his way into the top five, and his play vs. Penn State showed why he is a top-level prospect. He showed tremendous poise in a noisy environment in Penn State’s Whiteout, throwing the eventual game winner to Gary Bryant Jr. in double overtime, 30-24.
Not only is Moore poised and mobile, but he also makes plays look effortless in the best way possible.
He may need to get physically stronger over time, and he lacks the experience that the other top quarterbacks in this class have. But Moore has proven he belongs as a top prospect and he should only continue to improve with more reps.
4. Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
Height, weight: 6-1, 205 pounds.
2025 stats: 115-171 (67.3%), 1,159 yards, 7 TDs, 3 INTs.
After his impressive second half in Week 1 at Clemson, Nussmeier looked like he was on his way to passing Sellers for QB1. The problem is that he hasn’t built upon that performance.
A big problem is he just hasn’t been as efficient with the football since that opener in which he was 28 of 38 (73.7%) for 232 yards and a TD. He has thrown an interception in three of his last four games and completed 65% or more of his passes just once — which was against Southeast Louisiana on Sept. 20.
His yards per attempt has also gone down by almost a full yard compared to where it was a year ago.
What keeps him in fourth right now is there really hasn’t been anyone behind Mendoza and Moore who has jumped out and grabbed a spot.
LSU’s bye week comes at a good time after a loss at Ole Miss. With trips to Vanderbilt, Alabama and Oklahoma, they will need Nussmeier to rediscover what he did at Clemson. He will need to find it as well to get back in the QB1 mix.
5. John Mateer, Oklahoma
Height, weight: 6-1, 224 pounds.
2025 stats: 95-141 (67.4%), 1,215 yards, 6 TDs, 3 INTs.
Despite being sidelined with a broken hand for multiple weeks, Mateer was one of the most exciting quarterbacks.
I like how he played against Michigan despite throwing an interception. He accounted for three touchdowns, two of which were on the ground, and he also made some NFL level throws that you can see in the video above.
Mateer plays better in structure than you would think for a QB with his improvisation ability. He has the size and speed to be a runner, but he also has a live arm.
He is a true gunslinger for better and worse at times. But there is a lot to like about him. If he’s able to get back on the field soon, he will have a chance to flash even more than he already has.