Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore has already received a major prediction for next year's NFL Draft.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore almost certainly would have been the No. 2 overall pick of the 2026 NFL Draft had he declared, but he ultimately decided to return to school for another year.
Was it a mistake?
While Moore is making good NIL money at Oregon, some are worrying he may have missed the opportunity to cash in on the NFL this spring considering that next year's class is expected to be loaded with quarterback talent.
There is a chance that Moore slips out of the top five entirely in 2027, and seeing what just happened to fellow signal-callers like Drew Allar, Cade Klubnik and Carson Beck, you have to wonder if Moore made the right decison.
However, Kody Malstrom of Fantasy Life doesn't seem to think the extra year will hurt Moore. In fact, he thinks it will aid him, as he is projecting Moore to be the No. 1 overall pick in next year's draft.
More specifically, Malstrom has him going to the Arizona Cardinals.
Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore. Credit: Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images."Even if the Arizona Cardinals and Jacoby Brissett are able to come to an agreement on an extension, they will use their first-round pick on Dante Moore to either compete with or replace their current QB," Malstrom wrote.
The key takeaway here is that Malstrom has Moore going ahead of Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, who was viewed as a potential top 2026 pick heading into last season, but chose to return to Texas for one more season.
Malstrom has five quarterbacks in total going in the top 10, with Ohio State's Julian Sayin, Notre Dame's CJ Carr and Texas Tech's Brendan Sorsby representing the other three.
And that's not even including names like South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers, LSU's Sam Leavitt and Miam's Darian Mensah, among others.
Moore began his career at UCLA in 2023 and spent one year there before transferring to Oregon. After sitting behind Dillon Gabriel in his debut campaign, Moore became the full-time starter last season, throwing for 3,565 yards, 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while completing 71.8 percent of his passes.
The 20-year-old does not possess elite athleticism, but he is mobile enough to make plays on the run, and he has good size at 6-foot-3, 206 pounds.
The question is whether or not Moore will take another step forward or if he will regress next season. Hopefully, he doesn't follow the same path as so many before him.
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