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With the 2026 NFL draft about to get underway, the league’s top quarterback prospects are preparing to hear their name get called and join their new pro homes. There’s little doubt about who will go No. 1—but what about the rest of the class?
One intriguing prospect in the relatively weak QB class is Miami’s Carson Beck. The 6’5’’, 233-pound signal-caller is coming off a successful season at Miami, throwing 3,813 yards, 30 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing a career-high 72.4% of his passes; he helped lead the Hurricanes to their first national championship game since the 2002 season but ultimately lost to Indiana. The former Georgia QB transferred to Miami for his sixth and final collegiate season after opting against entering the 2024 NFL draft, and later tearing his UCL in the SEC title game against Texas in December 2024. He only started in two of his five campaigns with the Bulldogs.
As national title runner-up and the member of two championship-winning teams with Georgia, Beck brings with him a solid track record and better-than-average football IQ. It’s what he’s shown off the field that could lower his draft stock, according to a new report from Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer.
Per Breer’s report, an anonymous AFC coordinator called Beck a “villain.” Another coordinator said he wouldn’t go near Beck because of his “personality.”
Here’s that excerpt below:
The coach then added, “I follow college football loosely; there’s this sense that this guy is a villain. I don’t know where that comes from. Maybe it was leaving Georgia.”
Some questions about his personality remain, with NFL teams hearing he was a bit of a loner, which doesn’t make him a bad guy, but isn’t what you’re looking for at the position.
“He’s talented enough, smooth, on time, sees it well, he’s smart—probably the smartest kid in the class,” said an NFC coordinator. “But the personality is tough. I wouldn’t touch him.”
NFL coaches added that Beck’s “general lack of athleticism” and slower play speed knocked him down a couple pegs compared to his peers.
“He’s an interesting study,” said an NFC quarterbacks coach, before joking, “He was the least talented player on the most talented team in the country. … My problem is he’s an average athlete, his arm is average and there’s no quick-twitch. Everything is methodical. And the decision-making is inconsistent—he makes some boneheaded decisions that make you question his instincts and feel.”
That being said, Beck’s proven ability to overcome adversity at Georgia and ultimately bounce back with an impressive final collegiate showing at Miami is seen “as a plus by NFL folks, and evidence that he’ll last a while in the league,” per Breer’s reporting.
Carson Beck’s viral postgame move after losing national title game to Indiana
Beck made headlines earlier this year when his team faced Indiana in the national title game, but not for the reasons he may have hoped.
Following Miami’s 27-21 loss to the Hoosiers, Beck, who threw for 232 yards, one touchdown and one game-sealing interception, walked straight to the locker room after the final whistle. He notably didn’t try to find Heisman winner and Hoosiers QB Fernando Mendoza for the traditional postgame handshake, leading many college football fans on social media to claim Beck had “no class.”
A month later during the NFL combine in Indianapolis, Beck was ruthlessly booed by the Indy home crowd who clearly haven’t forgotten about the Miami quarterback’s perceived snub.
His personality quirks and viral post-national championship moment aside, Beck could get taken off the board as early as the QB3, selected after Mendoza and Alabama’s Ty Simpson. The Jacksonville native reportedly met with four quarterback-needy teams ahead of the 2026 draft: the Cardinals, Dolphins, Steelers and Jets.
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KRISTEN WONG
Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020 and has a bachelor’s in English and linguistics from Columbia University. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. She is a lifelong Liverpool fan who enjoys solving crossword puzzles and hanging out at her neighborhood dive bar in NYC.
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