The 2026 NFL season is almost here, and a whole new group of players is about to start answering the questions we’ve spent the offseason asking.
Some will become stars immediately. Some will sit and wait. Some will come out of nowhere.
And now, the 2026 QB Club Player NFTs are live and available on Magic Eden.
This is certainly our most interesting rookie class yet.
How Long Can They Keep Mendoza on the Bench?
Let’s start with the biggest name.
The Raiders used the No. 1 overall pick on Fernando Mendoza after his Heisman Trophy-winning national championship season at Indiana. But Las Vegas has named 38-year-old Kirk Cousins its Week 1 starter. Raiders GM John Spytek has already made it clear that Mendoza’s time is coming – he just has to earn it.
So now the clock starts.
Does Cousins hold the job all year? Does Mendoza take over in October? November? Does one bad Raiders losing streak change everything?
Because when a franchise spends the first overall pick on a quarterback, the question usually isn’t if he gets the job.
It’s when.
Is Ty Simpson the Next Matthew Stafford?
Maybe no rookie quarterback landed in a more fascinating long-term situation than Ty Simpson.
The Rams surprised plenty of people by taking Simpson in the first round while reigning NFL MVP Matthew Stafford returned for another run. Stafford is 38. Simpson now gets to learn Sean McVay’s offense while watching one of the best quarterbacks of his generation operate it. NFL.com has already described Simpson as Stafford’s heir apparent.
That could mean very little production in 2026.
It could also mean one of the best quarterback incubators imaginable.
Sometimes the player you want isn’t the rookie who starts Week 1.
It’s the one waiting behind the right veteran.
Beck. Klubnik. Allar. Who Gets the Call?
Then we have the next group of rookie quarterbacks.
Carson Beck landed in Arizona after leading Miami to the national championship game. Jacoby Brissett enters the year ahead of him, with Gardner Minshew also in the room, but the Cardinals themselves have acknowledged that Beck seeing the field later in the season is a possibility.
Cade Klubnik has already won the QB2 job with the Jets behind Geno Smith. That means he’s one play — or one change of direction by the franchise — away from suddenly becoming a very interesting name.
And Drew Allar enters a Pittsburgh quarterback room with Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph and Will Howard. His path is less direct, but quarterback careers can turn on opportunities nobody saw coming in September.
Which one gets his chance first?
That’s part of the fun.
Notre Dame Sent TWO Running Backs Into Round One
Think about how unusual that is.
Jeremiyah Love went No. 3 overall to Arizona. Jadarian Price went No. 32 to Seattle.
Same college backfield. Same draft. Two first-round running backs.
Love was the first running back selected in the top three since Trent Richardson in 2012, and Arizona clearly drafted him to become a major part of its offense. He showed some of that explosiveness in the preseason before suffering an ankle injury, rushing 11 times for 58 yards and adding three catches in his debut.
Price may be just as intriguing.
Seattle selected him after losing Kenneth Walker III, and the rookie now enters a backfield where the depth chart is still shaking itself out. Price averaged 6.0 yards per carry during his Notre Dame career and arrived with very little wear after spending much of college sharing the workload with Love.
Two Notre Dame backs.
Two first-round picks.
Two very different NFL situations.
Which career would you rather own?
Kenyon Sadiq Might Be Ridiculous
There are prospects you like because of their production.
Then there are prospects where you watch them move and think:
A tight end is not supposed to look like that.
The Jets selected Kenyon Sadiq No. 16 overall, and NFL.com described him as a versatile tight end with the athleticism and route-running potential to become a high-volume target.
He isn’t walking directly into TE1 duties. Mason Taylor currently sits ahead of him on the Jets depth chart and Sadiq lost some summer time after a setback following offseason hernia surgery.
But purely in terms of raw physical talent?
There may not be another rookie in this entire class I’m more curious to watch.
The Rookie Receivers Could Get Interesting Fast
Carnell Tate didn’t wait long to hear his name on draft night.
Tennessee took him fourth overall, and he’s already listed as a starting outside receiver opposite Calvin Ridley. That’s real opportunity immediately.
Jordyn Tyson may require more patience. The Saints placed him on injured reserve with a designation to return, so the beginning of his rookie season has been delayed. But that only moves his storyline a few weeks down the road.
Then the class gets deeper.
KC Concepcion was a first-round pick by Cleveland and enters the season atop the Browns’ slot depth chart. Denzel Boston, a second-rounder, is currently listed as a starting outside receiver there as well. Cleveland could end up giving us two rookie receivers worth watching at the same time.
Makai Lemon went in Round 1 to Philadelphia. His summer was slowed by a hamstring injury, but his route running, ball skills and ability to work multiple levels of the field made him one of the most polished receivers in the class.
And Jets first-rounder Omar Cooper Jr. enters a receiver room led by Garrett Wilson but has already positioned himself among the team’s young options for playing time.
Tate. Tyson. Concepcion. Lemon. Cooper. Boston.
You can make an argument for almost any one of them.
And by December, we’ll probably look back and wonder why one of them wasn’t obvious.
They’re Listed. Now Comes the Waiver Wire.
The new 2026 Player NFTs are now available alongside unowned players from previous QB Club releases.
Rather than price every player the same, we’ve introduced tiered Buy Now pricing between 0.05 and 0.20 SOL, based on factors including current NFL performance, long-term potential, career runway and opportunity.
See your guy at a price you like?
Buy Now and he’s yours.
Think you can get him cheaper?
Welcome to The Weekly Waiver Wire.
Every Tuesday morning, The QB Club will review eligible outstanding marketplace offers. Offers at 50% of the player’s listed Buy Now price or higher may be accepted.
That creates a choice.
Pay the Buy Now price and guarantee your player, or make an offer, wait for Tuesday and take the chance that somebody else doesn’t grab him first.
The first Weekly Waiver Wire takes place Tuesday, September 8 at 10:00 AM ET.
Find Your Player
Maybe you’re convinced Fernando Mendoza takes the Raiders job by midseason.
Maybe you think Ty Simpson eventually becomes Sean McVay’s next franchise quarterback.
Maybe you believe Jeremiyah Love is about to become one of the NFL’s next superstar running backs.
Maybe it’s Sadiq. Tate. Lemon. Concepcion.
Or maybe there’s somebody further down the list that everyone else is sleeping on.
That’s the point.
Find your player. Make your call. Put them in the game.
Beyond the Binder. Into the Game.