Steelers, Rams, Cardinals Draft Star College QBs in Mel Kiper, ESPN's New NFL Mock Draft 3 Weeks Out

Fans might have to wait until the third round of the 2026 NFL draft to see a serious run on the quarterback position.

ESPN experts Mel Kiper Jr., Matt Miller, Jordan Reid and Field Yates all cycled through the first 100 picks in a new mock Thursday, and their projections underlined the lack of excitement behind this year's QB class.

Miami's Carson Beck was the third quarterback taken and went 65th overall to the Arizona Cardinals. The Pittsburgh Steelers picked Penn State's Drew Allar (No. 85) later in the round, and he was followed by LSU's Garrett Nussmeier (No. 93) to the Los Angeles Rams.

The Cardinals and Steelers are both lacking a long-term plan at quarterback, and their short-term options aren't that encouraging, either.

Arizona is slated to start Jacoby Brissett or Gardner Minshew in Week 1. For the second successive offseason, Pittsburgh is courting Aaron Rodgers and has all of its eggs in that basket.

Neither fanbase would be overly thrilled with Beck or Allar.

Beck, 23, is on the older side for a draft prospect, and he seemed to plateau in college. His 238.3 yards per game in 2025 were his fewest as a full-time starter, and his interception to seal Miami's season-ending loss perfectly encapsulated the questions over his decision-making in the pocket.

Indiana GW INT

00:16

Allar never lived up to the hype as a 5-star recruit coming out of high school. Between 2023-25, he threw for 7,058 yards, 57 touchdowns and 13 interceptions while completing 63.5 percent of his passes. Allar's lack of development was among the factors that did in James Franklin as the head coach.

The third round is too early for teams to effectively waste picks on players with a lot of bust potential, but the upside of getting a good quarterback is at least enough to justify taking a flier on Beck or Allar. The Steelers have three third-rounders, too, allowing them to gamble a bit.

The Rams, meanwhile, don't have picks in Rounds 4 or 5, so they need to be especially deliberate with what they do before that.

When Matthew Stafford is firmly entrenched as the starter, taking a quarterback on Day 2 wouldn't help L.A. much right now. Granted, the team could stand to benefit from adding depth when Stafford and Stetson Bennett IV are the only QBs on the roster.

Coach Sean McVay might be suited to maximize the skill set of a player such as Nussmeier, who joined Beck and Allar in watching his stock steadily slide as the season unfolded.