Carson Beck In 1st Round? Latest NFL Draft Landing Spot Buzz Updated by Tom Pelissero in New Video

There is growing buzz that Carson Beck could be off the board earlier than many people expect. Perhaps even before Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson.

"There's enough teams that have a quarterback need... I would not be surprised if Beck goes... I believe he will go in the second round of this draft, and there's at least a non-trivial chance—again, based on the fact that everybody in the back-half of the first round is gonna have a second-round grade—I would not 100 percent rule out the idea of Beck somehow finding his way into the bottom of Round 1," Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network said during an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show.

He added that Beck and Simpson are "fits for different schemes," though he does believe Simpson could go as high as the back-half of the first round, and that his floor is early in the second round.

Beck was ranked the No. 120 player overall in the B/R NFL Scouting Department's final big board and fifth among quarterbacks, so not everybody is convinced. Daniel Jeremiah of NFL Network was a bit higher on him, ranking him No. 74 overall.

But he has his share of fans in the league, and at least one AFC executive could see him going ahead of Simpson.

"He would be the second (quarterback) for me," that executive told Pelissero. "He's played a lot of ball. He's really smart. He's got the right size. He has arm talent. And the value in which you have to get him in the quarterback market comes into play. You can take the guy in the second round, nobody's b---hing about you, nobody's writing about you. And you might get a pretty good player. If I was sitting there in the seat and didn't have a quarterback, I'd much rather get Carson Beck at 34 than Ty Simpson at 28."

There have been questions about Beck's leadership and demeanor dating back to his time at Georgia, though he had an excellent season for Miami in 2025, leading the team to the National Championship Game.

"If his DNA was wired right, he'd be a first-round pick, no doubt about it," another AFC executive told Pelissero. "He'd be ahead of Simpson for sure and similar talent to what Mendoza has. It wouldn't shock me if someone takes him in the second and takes a swing on him."

Or maybe even late in the first.