If he’d declared for the 2026 NFL Draft, Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore likely would’ve gone No. 2 to the New York Jets, who are searching for their next great passer. But Moore decided to return to college for one more season — a decision that may burn him according to CBS Sports’ most recent 2027 NFL mock draft.
Chris Hummer produced the mock draft, and it begins with the Jets selecting Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning first overall. That prediction isn’t very surprising, as there’s a wide consensus that Moore and Manning are in the competition to be the QB1 of the 2027 class.
But the next pick is where the surprises begin.
The Miami Dolphins end up with the No. 2 pick in this scenario, likely a telling sign that the offseason signing of former Green Bay Packers backup quarterback Malik Willis didn’t go as planned. Yet, Hummer has the Dolphins nabbing Texas EDGE Colin Simmons.
The next potentially quarterback-needy team, the Cleveland Browns, lands the fourth pick. But they bypass the Ducks‘ signal-caller as well, opting for Ohio State Buckeyes all-world receiver Jeremiah Smith. The Arizona Cardinals, who are holding a three-way competition for the QB1 spot this summer, do the same and select South Carolina Gamecocks EDGE Dylan Stewart.
The board fell Moore’s way, with picks No. 2, 4 and 5 likely needing a quarterback. Yet, Hummer predicts that none of them will grab Moore.
Instead, the Oregon standout falls all the way to No. 13, where the Pittsburgh Steelers stop his slide and scoop him up. Hummer wrote just a single sentence about Moore, failing to address the elephant in the room about why he slid outside of the top 10.
“Perhaps the best pure passer in college football a season ago, Moore is a smooth prospect with high-level production (3,565 yards, 30 TDs, 71.8%) in his starting debut for the Ducks,” Hummer wrote.
It’s an interesting take, and one that history doesn’t back up much at all. First-round quarterbacks’ draft stock is often inflated, with teams at the top of the order needing a young passer to jumpstart their franchise. Rarely is a quarterback drafted in the middle of the first round, unless what happened during the 2026 draft occurs.
Alabama’s Ty Simpson was expected to be a Day 2 pick after starting just one season for the Crimson Tide, but the Los Angeles Rams stunned the league by taking him at No. 13. For the second quarterback in the draft to go in the middle of the first, more often than not it’s because his draft stock was of a Day 2 pick and one team decided that they couldn’t risk passing him up.
Now, the Steelers absolutely will need a passer after the 2026 season, as Aaron Rodgers stated during his introduction press conference that this season will be his last. Other quarterbacks on the roster include Drew Allar and Will Howard, both of which were mid-round draft picks over the last two years.
The fit makes sense, as Moore would step into an organization needing a talented young and experiences passer who can start from Day 1. But how late the selection occurs is the curious part.
Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
This article originally appeared on Ducks Wire: Ducks QB Dante Moore drafted outside top 10 in recent mock draft