Poll: Sellers edges Nussmeier as NFL draft's QB1

As the 2025 play began, the measurement of high-end quarterbacks resonated arsenic 1 of the year's defining themes.

Heading into week 4, there's inactive small clarity regarding who could look from that battalion arsenic the apical backmost for the 2026 NFL draft.

ESPN polled 25 NFL scouts and executives to spot who they projected arsenic the apical backmost for the upcoming draft. The responses were varied, arsenic 7 antithetic quarterbacks came backmost arsenic the reply for QB1 among the 25 antithetic responses.

South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers came backmost arsenic the apical ballot getter with 8, edging LSU's Garrett Nussmeier (7). The adjacent crop, successful bid are Miami's Carson Beck (3), Oklahoma's John Mateer (3), Penn State's Drew Allar (2), Arizona State's Sam Leavitt (1) and Texas' Arch Manning (1).

While there's been a fistful of hyped players who've slumped, the harvest is inactive considered a important uptick from past season.

The canvass should beryllium considered much of a touchstone of the varied opinions than a technological projection. Last season, we conducted the aforesaid canvass heading into Week 6. At that time, Colorado's Shedeur Sanders led Beck 9 votes to 5 among the 25 scouts/executives. Cam Ward got 1 vote. It's besides uncertain who'll declare, arsenic Sellers, Mateer, Leavitt and Manning each person eligibility remaining.

The mode scouting works, scouts and wide managers don't measure everyone week by week. Many wide managers don't excavation successful intensively until aft the season. There's a process of checking and cross-checking that often goes by region, truthful galore scouts haven't dug into each the prospects successful the aforesaid mode they volition by the extremity of the season.

"Much similar past year," said a wide manager, "it's hard to prime this early."

Why is Sellers the aboriginal favorite?

"He's got astir carnal talent," 1 seasoned scout told ESPN. "His quality to scramble and marque plays with his feet arsenic a runner. He's instinctive and shot comes retired quick. He's got a unsocial endowment level. The kid, his communicative and however helium got there. He's got a toughness to him. It intrigues people.

"He's got the make-up, intangibles and quality to run. He's got the astir imaginable to beryllium an interaction player."

The statement betwixt Sellers and Nussmeier came down to carnal traits for immoderate scouts. Sellers is simply a 6-foot-3 and 240 lb redshirt sophomore who fits the modern ...