Miami quarterback Carson Beck is on the verge of finally entering the NFL draft after years of rumors. Ahead of the 2024 season, Beck was being floated as a potential No. 1 pick while he was Georgia’s QB1.
Beck’s final season in Athens did not go as planned, and the star quarterback surprised the college football world by having a change of heart on the NFL draft. Instead of entering the 2025 NFL draft, Beck hit the transfer portal and joined Miami, aiming to improve his plummeting stock.
It looks like the plan worked as Beck’s stock is on the rise in the latest NFL mock drafts. Beck has a chance to head into the NFL with a national championship if the Canes’ can pull off the upset against Indiana.
The Miami quarterback is no longer in the first-round picture, but Beck has now moved back into the day 2 category for the 2026 NFL draft. One team who could be hitting the reset button at quarterback is the Arizona Cardinals.
Find out why the Cardinals could be a fit for Beck.
Carson Beck’s NFL Draft Projections: The Cardinals, Jets, Rams & Browns Eyed as Top Landing Spots for Miami QB
Ahead of the national championship, Bleacher Report’s Kristopher Knox laid out the best landing spots for Beck. In addition to the Cardinals, the Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and Los Angeles Rams were also floated as potential fits for Beck.
“Right now, Beck feels like a Day-2 target for quarterback-needy teams like the Jets, the Arizona Cardinals, and the Cleveland Browns,” Knox wrote in a January 18, 2026, story titled, “NFL Mock Draft 2026: Landing Spots for Fernando Mendoza, Carson Beck, Rueben Bain Jr, More CFP Stars.” “Teams looking for a future starter, like the Los Angeles Rams, could also be interested.
“… Expect plenty of pre-draft conversations to revolve around Beck, especially if he caps his college career with a championship. Heading into the game, a Bo Nix-like rise into Round 1 can’t be dismissed.”
The Cardinals still have Kyler Murray on a hefty five-year, $230 million contract that is slated to go through the 2027 season. Yet, things appear about as awkward as possible between Murray and the Cardinals after the former No. 1 pick only played in five games during the 2025 season.
NFL Draft Rumors: Carson Beck Is Still Widely Viewed as a Backup QB
It remains to be seen how Beck’s play in the College Football Playoff will impact his NFL draft stock. The Athletic’s Antonio Morales and Dane Brugler reported that Beck is still viewed by NFL teams as “mostly (a) backup and spot-starter.”
“With early Day 3 draft grades after the 2024 season, Beck transferred to Miami for one more year in college and a chance to get his draft projection back in the top-100 range,” Morales and Brugler explained in a January 9, 2026, story titled, “CFP quarterback confidential: Just how good are Mendoza, Moore, Beck and Chambliss?” “He accounted for double-digit interceptions in both the 2024 and the 2025 seasons, but he did a great job avoiding the fatal mistake in the first two rounds of the Playoff against Texas A&M and Ohio State.
“… Beck has mostly backup and spot-starter grades among NFL scouts, and it will be interesting to see how that projection evolves based on the Playoff results.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Carson Beck Eyed as NFL Draft Replacement for $230 Million Star QB Amid Struggles appeared first on Heavy Sports.