NFL Draft expert Dane Brugler slots the Ducks’ signal-caller as a premier 2027 prospect after he bypassed the pros to chase a national title in Eugene.
The 2026 college football season is right around the corner, which means the 2027 NFL Draft discussions will slowly begin to follow for the Oregon Ducks' best playmakers.
This year, head coach Dan Lanning possesses plenty of experienced veterans that the NFL will likely have their eyes on this season. However, there is one name that could have entered last year's draft but decided to return in star quarterback Dante Moore.
In his 2027 NFL Draft preseason rankings, The Athletic's Dane Brugler had Moore as his No. 2 quarterback heading into the regular season.
"Had he declared, Moore would have been drafted very high in the 2026 NFL Draft — likely No. 2 by the New York Jets," Brugler wrote. "However, he wanted one more year of college experience to continue developing mentally and physically; scouts say he is now in the 218-pound range after hovering under 205 last year. Returning to Eugene made sense, and it should make Moore better equipped for the long term."
Moore's NFL Draft Outlook
Oregon quarterback Dante Moore celebrates a touchdown as the Oregon Ducks take on the Washington Huskies on Nov. 29, 2025, at Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington (Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard)After sitting behind the likes of former Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, Moore would eventually take over the starting role for the 2025 season. And luckily for Lanning, the move would pay dividends throughout the course of the year.
Moore finished his most recent campaign with 3,565 passing yards, 30 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions, while simultaneously leading the Ducks to the 2025-26 College Football Playoffs Semifinals. His outstanding play caught the attention of many NFL organizations, as the draft community projected him to be a top-five pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
However, Moore would ultimately decide to forgo the draft and return to Eugene for one final run with Oregon.
One of the biggest knocks against Moore heading into this season will be how he handles pressure. Brugler noted this in his rankings, bringing up multiple situations from last season.
"For the most part, Moore is a sound decision-maker, although his inexperience tends to pop up," Brugler wrote. "At times, he appears to predetermine where he’s going, as on the first play from scrimmage against Indiana, which D’Angelo Ponds intercepted and returned for a pick-six. Other times, he struggles to be decisive under pressure. In overtime versus Penn State, Moore had a wide-open touchdown to Kenyon Sadiq on the corner route but quickly found the checkdown at the first hint of pressure."
Currently, Moore trails Texas Longhorns' star Arch Manning in Brugler's preseason quarterback rankings. Still, the former five-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class has already shown to be an elite distributor of the football at all levels of the field.
If Moore can clean up his woes when under pressure, the talented playmaker could easily solidify himself as a top-three pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
