Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah could make a surprising move.
The general consensus has been that Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah will return to school for another season in 2026, but could he be having other thoughts?
Apparently, he may be doing just that.
Sources have told John Talty of CBS Sports that Mensah is actually considering entering the NFL Draft because of some surprising intel.
"Mensah has gotten very good NFL feedback and projects as an early round draft pick," Talty wrote on X. "While other schools have inquired, Mensah is only considering the NFL or a return to Duke."
Considering that most had Mensah pegged as a late-round pick in most recent mock drafts, the fact that he has evidently made such a big jump in recent weeks is a stunning turn of events.
Or perhaps all of the so-called "experts" have merely misjudged the redshirt sophomore?
Mensah began his career at Tulane and spent two years with the Green Wave before transferring to Duke ahead of the 2025 campaign.
Duke Blue Devils quarterback Darian Mensah. Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images.He has certainly had a brilliant season for the Blue Devils, throwing for 3,646 yards, 30 touchdowns and six interceptions while completing 67.9 percent of his passes. Most importantly, he led Duke to an ACC Championship Game victory.
Mensah is not much of a true dual threat, which will almost certainly hurt his draft stock in some form or fashion, but he has tremendous pocket presence, decent size and impressive arm talent.
The fact that Mensah has transformed Duke into an exciting offensive ballclub is truly saying something and speaks volumes of his ability to elevate his teammates.
Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore and Ty Simpson are viewed as the top three quarterbacks in this year's class, but there is no guarantee that Simpson — who has struggled late in the year — declares, and beyond those three, there are a ton of question marks.
For that reason, it would not be completely shocking to see Mensah sneak in as a Day 2 pick given the numbers he has posted this year, but it may still benefit him to return to school for another campaign to truly hone his skills and potentially become a first-round pick in 2027.
That being said, if Mensah's stock is truly skyrocketing, then he may want to take advantage of the opportunity while it is at hand.
Duke will face Arizona State in the Sun Bowl.