Dante Moore is rising fast -- Oregon QB now a serious name in No. 1 pick conversation for 2026 NFL Draft

The best quarterbacks in the NFL have a knack for making things look easy. The great irony is that it's not. It's the product of an immensely talented individual having enough repetition to feel the confidence that comes along with mastery of a craft. It's a combination that shines almost immediately when you see it.

Through five weeks of the college football season, no quarterback has exuded that quality more so than Oregon's Dante Moore. In only his ninth career start, Moore walked into a Penn State whiteout and took down the No. 3 team in the country. He completely outdueled Drew Allar in the process and only put the ball in harm's way once all day on an overtime two-point conversion.

While Moore's talent has been evident since he was the No. 4 overall recruit, per 247Sports, in the 2023 class, his route to potential QB1 in the 2026 NFL Draft has been a road less traveled in modern times.

Moore started his career at UCLA, where he started five games as a true freshman under Chip Kelly. With Kelly on the way out after that season, Moore entered the transfer portal.

Instead of seeking a guaranteed starting job, Moore opted for the Ducks, who already had lured Dillon Gabriel away from Oklahoma to be their starter. It was a path reminiscent of the one Kyler Murray took. The Arizona Cardinals quarterback was a freshman starter himself at Texas A&M, but after that season opted to transfer to Oklahoma despite Baker Mayfield being the established starter. After two seasons on the bench, Murray's game was transformed, as he became the best quarterback in the country and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.

The year off served Moore similarly well, as he's developed into a completely different quarterback than the last time we saw him. The scintillating arm talent and athleticism are obviously still there, but Moore's newfound unflappability in the pocket has been eye-opening. He's averaging a ridiculous 8.8 yards per attempt when under pressure this season with no interceptions and has the second-lowest pressure-to-sack conversion rate in the country (3.2%). From an evaluation perspective, that's the holy grail.

As I stated before, that sort of calm only comes with mastery, and it's clear on tape that Moore's mechanics are elite already. Whether it's his easy, repeatable motion or crisp footwork, Moore's dedication to his craft is evident. The rep below illustrates what I'm talking about beautifully. He gets his feet lined up at the top of his drop to throw the over, stops mid-motion when he realizes the linebacker has jumped it, and immediately resets into perfect alignment to throw the dig coming behind it.

It's like Tiger Woods stopping mid-swing when a phone goes off -- he makes it look easy, but it is not easy. There are starting quarterbacks in the NFL who can't do what Moore did above without getting skittish feet. And that was in Week 1.

I want to reiterate that we're only five games into the season. There are still numerous tests Moore needs to pass before the first round is even a possibility, including No. 8 Indiana in a couple weeks, as well as a likely Big Ten Championship Game and College Football Playoff run.

In those five games, though, he's given very little reason to be concerned about him passing those tests. And he's absolutely flashed No. 1 overall pick-level of physical ability.

Watching how easily he pushes the ball downfield, Moore can't help but conjure up images for me of Jayden Daniels at LSU. With seemingly little effort, the ball explodes out of his hand 50-plus yards downfield.

That's how you want a top pick at quarterback to spin it. That's an athlete who could have excelled at a lot of different sports, but decided to focus on quarterbacking. That's someone who can be developed even further at the next level.

Of course, the rush to crown someone as the "next big thing" in today's immediate gratification age has resulted in some embarrassing whiffs on prospects. No one is crowning Moore just yet, as evidenced by his +700 odds to go No. 1 overall, per DraftKings Sportsbook.

Rather, so few of the top quarterbacks have played impressive enough ball to even be considered with the No. 1 overall pick by season's end. Indiana's Fernando Mendoza is one. Oklahoma's John Mateer was another before his injury. After that, Moore might be the only other. 

And if he improves upon what we've seen from him through five weeks this season and doesn't have any regression games, he'd be my pick.

2026 NFL Draft No. 1 pick odds

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Dante Moore NFL Draft profile

Dante Moore

OREG • QB • #5

6-3, 206 | 20 years old | Redshirt sophomore

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• CBS prospect ranking: No. 6 overall (No. 2 QB)

To check out all of CBSSports.com's most recent mock drafts, click here.

NFL comparison: Deshaun Watson

There's no great one-to-one comp for Moore's skillset. Aesthetically, he reminds me of Jayden Daniels, but he's nowhere near the same level of athlete. From a play style perspective, early-career Deshaun Watson makes a lot of sense. Moore is a playmaker with both his arm and legs who exudes confidence with his play style. That was how Watson handled the position coming out of Clemson before the wheels fell off.

Strengths

• Smooth athlete who can create with his legs
• Effortless throwing motion that's accurate to all levels
• Uncoachably calm under pressure

Weaknesses

• Limited experience with under 500 career dropbacks
• Underneath heavy offense doesn't put a lot on his plate
• Trim frame that still needs to add muscle

What scouts are saying about Dante Moore

"NFL front office staffers had started to bring Dante up even before the Penn State game as someone whose play through the early part of the year wasn't going unnoticed and as someone who was already starting to put himself on the NFL radar, even as a redshirt sophomore. 

"At that point, one assistant general manager said he was on the radar more "for moving forward" as opposed to being a clear guy for next year's draft, but it sounds like that performance against Penn State has NFL scouts and front office staffers starting to become intrigued even more by Moore as a possibility for as soon as next year's draft. 

"It doesn't hurt Moore's draft prospects that people around the NFL personnel world continue to view this as one of the more wide-open quarterback classes in recent memory." -- Matt Zenitz (national NFL/national college football senior reporter for CBS Sports)

Renner's 2026 NFL mock draft 2.0: Fernando Mendoza stays at QB1; breakout star Dante Moore lands with Steelers

Mike Renner

Dante Moore college stats

Dante Moore 247Sports profile

High school: Martin Luther King (Detroit)
Class: 2023
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (100)

• National: 4 | QB: 3 | Michigan: 1

Check out Dante Moore's full 247Sports profile, here.