As the 2025 season began, the volume of high-end quarterbacks resonated as one of the year’s defining themes.

Heading into Week 4, there’s still little clarity regarding who could emerge from that pack as the top quarterback for the 2026 NFL draft.

ESPN polled 25 NFL scouts and executives to see who they projected as the top quarterback for the upcoming draft. The responses were varied, as seven different quarterbacks came back as the answer for QB1 among the 25 different responses.

South Carolina‘s LaNorris Sellers came back as the top vote-getter with 8, edging LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier (7). The next crop, in order are Miami‘s Carson Beck (3), Oklahoma‘s John Mateer (3), Penn State‘s Drew Allar (2), Arizona State‘s Sam Leavitt (1) and Texas‘ Arch Manning (1).

While a handful of hyped players have slumped, the crop is still considered a significant uptick from last season.

The poll should be considered more of a touchstone of the varied opinions than a scientific projection. Last season, we conducted the same poll heading into Week 6. At that time, Colorado‘s Shedeur Sanders led Beck (nine votes to five) among the 25 scouts/executives. Cam Ward got one vote. It’s also uncertain who will declare, as Sellers, Mateer, Leavitt and Manning all have eligibility remaining.

The way scouting works, scouts and general managers don’t evaluate everyone week by week. Many general managers don’t dig in intensively until after the season. There’s a process of checking and cross-checking that often goes by region, so many scouts haven’t dug into all the prospects in the same way they will by the end of the season.

“Much like last year,” a general manager said, “it’s hard to pick this early.”

Why is Sellers the early favorite?

“He’s got most physical talent,” one veteran scout told ESPN. “His ability to scramble and make plays with his feet as a runner. He’s instinctive and the ball comes out quick. He’s got a unique talent level. The kid, his story and how he got there. He’s got a toughness to him. It intrigues people.

“He’s got the makeup, intangibles and ability to run. He’s got the most potential to be an impact player.”

The debate between Sellers and Nussmeier came down to physical traits for some scouts. Sellers is a 6-foot-3 and 240 pound redshirt sophomore who fits the modern paradigm of quarterbacks who can be a threat in the called run game.

Nussmeier is listed at 6-foot-1 and 205 pounds and is considered a good athlete, as LSU coach Brian Kelly wanted him to use his legs more this season as part of his development. While both are in their second full season as a starter, Nussmeier has been in school five seasons and is the son of an NFL offensive coordinator.

“Instinctive and finds a way,” another scout said. “He’s got a great feel for the position and a good arm.”

Beck has helped himself in the early part of the season, as he struggled in stretches during 2024 after entering the season as the projected favorite to be the top quarterback in the 2025 draft.

“Let’s see if Beck can continue his renaissance,” said a scout, “because there’s enough ability there.”

Mateer’s performance against Michigan convinced a few scouts, as he also fits the more pure dual-threat role.

Most scouts around the NFL expected Manning to go to school another year, and that belief has been amplified only by his tepid start to the 2025 season.

“He’s very talented,” a scout said. “Just from top-to-bottom, arm talent. Just understanding in the pocket and seeing the field and feeling the field. You see his arm strength.

“He just needs to get everything under control and for the game to slow down.”

Florida might be without three of its top defensive linemen when it tries to end a two-game losing streak at No. 4 Miami on Saturday night.

The Gators (1-2) will be without defensive tackles Caleb Banks and Michai Boireau, and potentially starting defensive end George Gumbs Jr., sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Saturday.

Gumbs made the trip to Miami (3-0) for Saturday’s game at Hard Rock Stadium (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) and will try to play, but sources told ESPN that he’s unlikely to go.

Gumbs has 10 tackles and a half-sack in three games.

Sources told ESPN that Boireau didn’t travel to Miami and won’t play against the Hurricanes. He has five tackles in two games and missed last week’s 20-10 loss at LSU with an undisclosed injury.

Banks has already been ruled out of the Miami game after suffering a foot injury against LSU. After missing the first two games, Banks played 29 snaps against the Tigers.

Swamp247 reported Wednesday that Banks had surgery on his foot in Birmingham, Alabama, and a timeline for his return wasn’t known.

Brendan Bett, Brien Taylor Jr. and Jamari Lyons will likely continue to get the majority of playing time up front for the Gators.

“We got a really good group. I’m excited about what I see out of the young players in the group,” Gators coach Billy Napier said. “Still enough players there to have a very effective group.”

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Salvador Perez hit a three-run homer in Kansas City’s seven-run first inning and the Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 20-1 on Friday night.

The Royals sent 10 batters to the plate against Max Scherzer (5-4), who exited after recording just two outs and allowing seven hits in the shortest noninjury start of his career. It was Scherzer’s shortest outing since facing just one batter while pitching for Washington on June 11, 2021, before leaving with an injury. Also, Scherzer’s seven runs conceded in the first inning are the most allowed in any inning of his career.

According to ESPN Research, Toronto’s 19-run loss ties the largest by a division leader in a September or later regular-season game, joining the previous dubious mark set by the San Diego Padres‘ 20-1 loss to the Colorado Rockies in 2005.

Following a homer by George Springer in the top of the first inning, the Royals quickly tied it in the bottom of the inning on Carter Jensen‘s leadoff double and Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI single. Witt scored on Vinnie Pasquantino‘s double into the left-field corner to give Kansas City the lead for good.

After a walk to Maikel Garcia — and Toronto pitching coach Pete Walker’s ejection — Perez connected for his 30th home run. Michael Massey‘s two-run homer gave Kansas City a 7-1 lead. Then after Carter Jensen hit a ground-rule double — his second two-bagger of the inning — Scherzer was pulled.

Scherzer said he wasn’t overly concerned.

“We’ll deep dive and figure out what was going on, look at more advanced things,” he said. “But when I went back and looked at the location of some of the pitches, I’m actually OK with it. In that regard, you kind of flush it and move on.”

Blue Jays manager John Schneider called it “a weird outing” from a player who’s likely bound for the Hall of Fame.

“Over the course of his career you don’t see that very often from Max, barring an injury,” Schneider said. “They came out swinging and he kind of just left things in the middle.”

Batting leadoff for the first time, Jensen hit three doubles, including a two-run double in the third to go with his two against Scherzer in the first. Jensen became the first Royals player with multiple doubles in the same inning.

Jac Caglianone hit a three-run homer in the seventh as the Royals had 10 runs and 13 hits in 1⅓ innings against catcher Tyler Heineman. Infielder Isiah Kiner-Falefa got the last two outs in the eighth inning.

Pasquantino had four of Kansas City’s franchise-record 27 hits, doubling twice as the Royals collected eight extra-base hits in the first three innings.

Royals starter Michael Lorenzen (6-11) gave up a run and three hits with three walks while striking out four in 7⅔ innings for his first win since July 6.

Schneider doesn’t expect Friday’s outing to change anything about Scherzer’s future in the rotation.

“It’s a weird outing to go two-thirds of an inning and throw a lot of pitches,” he said. “But I don’t think that will affect him going forward. It won’t make his pitch count any lower. Going forward he’ll be on a normal workload and kind of normal pitch count.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.