Pewter Report analyzes the top players in the 2026 NFL Draft with its position previews. Scott Reynolds starts the previews with the quarterback position, offering a comprehensive look at what the Bucs have and what they need at quarterback.

Josh Queipo then analyzes a detailed list of this year’s top quarterback prospects while Reynolds provides the annual Pewter Report Bucs Best Bets – the most likely quarterback for the Bucs to select in Rounds 1-3, and in Rounds 4-7.

What The Bucs Have At Quarterback

Tampa Bay has one of the better quarterbacks in the league in Baker Mayfield, who turns 31 on April 14. Mayfield is coming off a season in which he saw his career-high numbers from 2024 dip under new offensive coordinator Josh Grizzard. After throwing for 4,500 yards and 41 touchdowns while completing a franchise-record 71.4% of his passes under play-caller Liam Coen the previous season, Mayfield threw for 3,693 yards and 26 TDs with a 63.2% completion percentage.

Bucs QB Baker Mayfield – Photo by: USA Today

Mayfield battled through shoulder and knee injuries last year, and also played behind an injury-ravaged offensive line that had a revolving door at both guard spots in 2025. As Mayfield enters a big contract year, he’ll be working with new offensive coordinator Zac Robinson, who, like Coen, was a disciple of Rams head coach Sean McVay. The two worked together in Los Angeles at the end of the 2022 season, and Mayfield was thrilled with the hire.

Backing up Mayfield is new veteran QB Jake Browning, who spent the last three years in Cincinnati, posting a 7-10 record as a starter while filling in for the injured Joe Burrow, including a 4-3 mark in 2023. Browning, who was Cade Otton’s QB in college and replaces Teddy Bridgewater, has completed 68.5% of his passes for 2,707 yards with 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in the NFL.

Connor Bazelak, an undrafted free agent last year out of Bowling Green, beat out Kyle Trask for a spot on the practice squad. The Bucs remain high on him as a developmental prospect after a good showing in the preseason.

What The Bucs Need At Quarterback

With Baker Mayfield, Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak, the Bucs don’t have a pressing need at quarterback. With several needs to address, mostly on defense, it is highly doubtful the Bucs would draft a quarterback in this year’s draft. Instead, Tampa Bay would likely opt to sign one as an undrafted free agent instead for training camp competition for Bazelak.

With Mayfield expected to sign a contract extension either this summer or next spring prior to free agency, it doesn’t make sense to burn a premium draft pick in rounds 1-4 on a player that may never see the field. Jason Licht should have learned this lesson in wasting a second-round pick on Kyle Trask in 2021 following Tampa Bay’s Super Bowl win.

Top Quarterbacks In 2026 NFL Draft

*Important Note: These players are NOT listed in the order of Pewter Report’s ranking for them. Rather, the numbers are provided to show you the rough order in which we expect them to come off the board during the draft.

1. Indiana QB Fernando Mendoza – RS Junior – 6-4, 236, N/A

Mendoza is widely expected to go first overall to the Raiders as former Bucs executive John Spytek tries to jumpstart a franchise in neutral. After spending three years at Cal, he jumped to Indiana in 2025 and led the Hoosiers to a National Championship while simultaneously thrusting himself into the pole position for best college quarterback in the country.

Mendoza has the build of a classic pocket passer and profiles as one with a quick release and strong processor. That’s where he sets up his wins the most, as a smart pre-snap diagnostician with quick post-snap understanding of where to go and what to do. This helps him get the ball out quick and with anticipation. And while his arm is above average, it plays up due to his football IQ. Those traits were the real driver behind his 3,811 total yards and 48 TDs last year.

2. Alabama QB Ty Simpson – RS Junior – 6-1, 211, N/A

Where Fernando Mendoza represents a high floor, Simpson has an incredibly high ceiling. He didn’t get to start until 2025 with just 50 career attempts coming into this past year. The lack of experience is notable, but it’s hard to ignore his 3,567 yards and 28 touchdowns to just five interceptions and the Second Team All-SEC accolade. Many analysts have even pointed out that through the first eight weeks of last year, the tape was equivalent between Mendoza and Simpson.

Simpson has a small build but makes up for it with a plenty big arm with good touch and plus movement/mobility. This makes him perfect for a heavy play action and boot system that prioritizes athleticism over size. He plays up those traits with a quick processor and good decision-making. He’s at his best when he’s aggressive and gets into trouble when he doesn’t trust his talent. Simpson’s his lack of size will be something to monitor when he gets to the NFL where everyone is bigger, faster and hits harder.

Alabama QB Ty Simpson – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Mark J. Rebilas

3. LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier – RS Senior – 6-2, 203, N/A

Nussmeier stayed at LSU all five years of his career despite a coaching change and having to sit behind transfer Jayden Daniels for two seasons. He finally earned the starting job in 2024 and kept it for two seasons. The 2024 season was his best, as he threw for over 4,000 yards and 29 touchdowns. Nussmeier is the quintessential coaches’ son, having a former NFL quarterback and college coach for a father. It shows in his game as he understands defensive tells, structures and blitz concepts.

Nussmeier’s mechanics are sound and help him deliver the ball in tight spots while making good decisions on a regular basis. But his smaller stature with merely average athleticism makes him a one-dimensional player with size concerns. He has his passes batted at the line of scrimmage too often and has dealt with plenty of injuries. Those injuries did affect his mechanics and limited his play in 2025 while also forcing him to miss four games. And he sometimes shows too much faith in good-but-not-great physical gifts putting him in unnecessary trouble.

4. North Dakota State QB Cole Payton – 5th Year Senior – 6-3, 232, 4.56

In the tradition of North Dakota State quarterbacks, Payton is an athletic, dual threat who was with the program for four years before getting his chance to start in 2025. That limited experience limited his career production – just 3,188 yards and 21 touchdowns through the air to go with 1,918 yards and 31 touchdowns on the ground. Payton pairs the athletic ability of some of the smaller QBs in this class with the more prototypical size of the traditional pocket passers, creating a profile that is just unique for this group.

He can make all of the throws that will be asked of him but has the ability to deliver with touch rather than just rocketing the ball with velocity. Payton is also known as a leader with great work ethic to pair with his physical gifts and toughness. But Payton’s lack of experience means a lack of quarterback processing traits. He is not fully aware in the pocket and can succumb to pressure. Plus, Payton doesn’t throw with anticipation, preferring to see it first. This all leads to a profile that has extreme boom-or-bust potential.

5. Penn State QB Drew Allar – Senior – 6-5, 228, N/A

Allar is one of the most polarizing signal-callers in this year’s crop. He spent four years at Penn State, three as a starter, before ending his career on a down note, missing more than half the season with an ankle injury. Yet he still had 35 starts where he threw 61 touchdowns with just 13 picks. Allar has a good arm with some real downfield highlight heaves on his tape.

Some of those throws show a real feel for anticipation even amidst pressure in his face. He is one of the smarter quarterbacks in this class in terms of progressions and has some of the best velocity throws in the class. The trouble with Allar comes down to consistency. His lowlights include poor accuracy on easy checkdowns, inconsistent ball placement, touch and footwork, and over-extension of his release.

Penn State QB Drew Allar – Photo by: IMAGN Images – James Lang

6. Miami QB Carson Beck – 6th Year Senior – 6-4, 233, N/A

After a three-year stint as a backup at Georgia he finally got to start in 2023 and 2024. And despite an impressive statistical performance throwing for 7,624 yards and 57 total touchdowns, Beck always seemed to falter in the playoffs. This led to him transferring to Miami in 2025 where he tied a career high for completion rate and set a new career high in touchdown passes. But he threw double-digit interceptions for the second year in a row before losing in the National Championship to Indiana.

Beck has plus size and good ball placement and works well in a heavy play-action system. He’s smart and knows how to set his own protections, and how to move in the pocket when things get muddy. And he has a penchant as a gamer, having won in a variety of ways including late and ugly. The biggest issue for Beck is how well he can play out of structure, which is where the best players typically separate themselves. Add in some fumble issues to his interceptions and there are real concerns about him.

7. Arkansas QB Taylen Green – RS Senior – 6-6, 227, 4.36

Green spent three years at Boise State where he was a Freshman All-American in 2022 and the Mountain West Conference Championship Game MVP in 2023 before transferring to Arkansas and the SEC in 2024. Over his four years as a starter, he threw for almost 10,000 yards and 59 touchdowns but also had his fair share of interceptions, averaging just 1.7 touchdowns for every interception.

Green represents potential and upside due to his size and athleticism. His 4.36 speed shows up on tape as he ran for just over 2,400 yards and 35 touchdowns in college. Those qualities also help him avoid sacks as he maintained a career pressure to sack rate of 15.1%. In a class where arm strength doesn’t stand out for many passers, Green has the arm to hit every spot. But he’s such a project that some NFL teams may draft him to be an athlete and move him elsewhere.

Best Of The Rest

8. Clemson QB Cade Klubnik – Senior – 6-2, 207, 4.69

A true senior, Klubnik was a three-year starter at Clemson. He has a wiry frame with functional athleticism. Those traits helped him to an impressive Junior year where he threw for 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns while adding another 463 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. But Klubnik and the Tigers took a step back in 2025, which has hurt his draft stock considerably. Klubnik is just as comfortable out of the pocket as he is in it with solid, but does not impressive arm strength.

9. Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson – RS Senior – 6-4, 216, 4.64

After failing to establish himself as a starter in the SEC at Mississippi State over two seasons, Robertson transferred to Baylor in 2023 and became a starter in 2024. There he threw for over 6,900 yards and 59 touchdowns. The former team captain and team leader has ideal height on a wiry frame, but plenty of room to add some muscle and fill out. Robertson has a good arm and great touch, but the timing of his throws wasn’t always in rhythm, and he would sometimes leave the ball hanging due to inconsistent mechanics and a flat-footed delivery.

10. Illinois QB Luke Altmyer – RS Senior – 6-2, 210, 4.72

Altmyer was a backup for two years at Ole Miss before transferring to Illinois in 2023 and becoming a three-year starter. He threw for 7,467 yards, 57 touchdowns while adding 12 scores on the ground at Illinois. He is a smart player with an arrow up trajectory, showing real strides year over year as his interceptions went down from 2023 to 2024 and his accuracy improved from 2024 to 2025. He’s a willing player outside of structure and the pocket who is comfortable making a play with his feet, but has a penchant for fumbles.

11. UConn QB Joe Fagnano – 7th Year Senior – 6-3, 226, 4.83

Fagnano spent four years at Maine, starting 25 games and throwing for 5,466 yards and 45 touchdowns before transferring to UConn where he played an additional three years (starting two). He added another 20 starts 5,252 yards and 48 touchdowns to his belt at the bigger program and only threw 18 interceptions in his career. Fagnano’s arm isn’t upper tier, but it should play at the NFL level. Given his advanced age (25) for a draft prospect one has to wonder if that will ever develop. Add in multiple injuries that caused him to miss time and his outlook becomes decidedly murky.

12. Georgia Tech QB Haynes King – 6th Year Senior – 6-2, 212, 4.46

King is a true dual-threat QB who spent three years as Texas Tech before transferring to Georgia Tech where he became a three-year starter. He was a perfect fit for the Yellow Jackets system that leaned into his ability to both pass and run, as he threw for almost 8,000 yards and 55 touchdowns while also running for almost 2,300 yards and another 36 scores. King, who is 25, did clean up his turnovers after an interception-laded 2023, throwing half as many (8) combined in 2024 and 2025 as he did his first year with Georgia Tech (16), but he did have 19 fumbles over his final three seasons.

13. Kansas QB Jalon Daniels – 6th Year Senior – 6-1, 219, 4.65

Daniels spent his entire six-year college experience at Kansas where he started at least three games in every season, totaling 45 for his career. He passed for 9,283 yards, and 67 touchdowns to 31 interceptions while adding 1,451 yards and 23 touchdowns as a rusher. Daniels’ low touchdown-to-interception ratio is a function of his questionable decision-making. And despite him being a plus athlete for the position he still only managed to average 3.4 yards per carry while fumbling almost 20 times over his final two years limiting his upside as a dual-threat passer.

Kansas QB Jalon Daniels – Photo by: IMAGN Images – Mark J. Rebilas

14. Texas Tech QB Behren Morton – RS Senior – 6-2, 221, 4.89

Morton spent five years at Texas Tech, starting his final three, where he amassed just under 9,000 yards and 71 touchdowns to just 28 interceptions and a 28-13 record. He’s also a proven leader whose players love him. But he’s still figuring out opposing defenses and can get fooled by disguised coverages. That, plus inconsistent ball placement and more good-than-great velocity, leads him to trouble more often than teams will like.

Bucs Best Bets By Scott Reynolds

Rounds 1-3: Penn State QB Drew Allar

The Bucs aren’t going to draft a quarterback in the first three rounds – not with pressing needs elsewhere, especially on defense. Tampa Bay needs to select starters in the first three rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft – not a backup QB. This isn’t like 2021 when the Bucs were coming off a victory in Super Bowl LV and splurged on Kyle Trask at the end of the second round, hoping he would serve as an understudy to Tom Brady and eventually succeed him. That didn’t happen, and that’s why the Bucs won’t draft Drew Allar – or any QB – before Day 3, especially with Baker Mayfield entering a contract year and the team fully expecting to sign him to an extension.

Having said that, if the Bucs were going to select a QB for the long term to develop behind Mayfield, selecting Allar in the mid rounds might happen. Tampa Bay had an informal interview with him, and his playing style is similar to Mayfield’s, so from a developmental standpoint he might be the best option from a physical tools standpoint. Allar threw for 61 touchdowns and just 13 interceptions at Penn State, while completing 65% of his passes over the last two years. He also has some mobility and posted 12 rushing scores for the Nittany Lions.

Rounds 4-7: Kansas QB Jalon Daniels

This is not a very good class of quarterbacks in the 2026 NFL Draft. The options on Day 3 aren’t stellar in terms of draft and development players. If the Bucs were truly going to select a quarterback it would likely come in the seventh round after meeting all of the team’s needs in the first six rounds of the draft. With Baker Mayfield as the established starter and in line for a contract extension, the Bucs might have some small interest in upgrading the backup QB spot and adding another arm to challenge newly signed Jake Browning and Connor Bazelak, who spent last season on the practice squad.

Daniels, who had an official 30 visit with the Bucs, is an interesting player because of his mobility (4.65 speed) and scrambling ability that made him a dual threat QB for the Jayhawks. In his six seasons with Kansas he threw for 67 touchdowns and 31 interceptions, while rushing for 23 scores. His final season was one of his best as he completed 62% of his passes for 22 TDs with seven INTs. Daniels is a good athlete with a live arm and had a good showing at the East-West Shrine Bowl, and could be a target in the seventh round or as an undrafted free agent.