2026 draft scouting first look: Miami QB Carson Beck

USA Today

7 hours ago

Carson Beck entered the 2024 college football season as the presumptive No. 1 quarterback prospect for the 2025 NFL Draft. While Beck had a mighty successful season in leading Georgia to an 11-3 record and the College Football Playoff, his performance, when viewed through NFL eyes, wasn't as sharp as his prior time with the Bulldogs.
After briefly declaring for the last draft, Beck opted to transfer to Miami. It's a chance at a prospect revitalization with Beck taking over for Hurricanes QB Cam Ward, who emerged as the No. 1 overall pick after one year in Miami. Beck has some work to do to get into that conversation, but there is still a lot to like about his pro-style game and potential.
How Beck translates to Miami's offense remains to be seen. He's not Ward, who proved more patient and less mistake-prone in 2024 than Beck did. A quick refresh on Beck's performances against Alabama, Texas (the first meeting) and Ole Miss spotlights exactly where Beck can help himself regain first-round status for the 2026 NFL Draft. Before that comes, however, he'll need to show he's fully recovered from UCL surgery on his throwing elbow.
Beck does still offer quite a bit of potential as a sort of high-end game manager, which isn't nearly the disparaging comment it's often interpreted to be. When Beck is patient, seeing the defense well (both pre- and post-snap) and confident in both his arm and the players around him, the 6-4, 220-pounder is a very good quarterback.
Scouting first look: Caleb Downs
He's got a good arm, not elite but certainly not lacking in zip. Beck can hit the wide sideline throws and rifle the ball into shrinking windows when he wants to. The throwing motion is fluid and easy, with consistent mechanics and a strong lower-body base. The feet and hips don't appear to engage as fluidly when he's pressured or on the move, but that's something that can be coached up.
Beck's ability to handle pressure, both from the defense and from the weight of leading his own team, was not nearly as sharp in 2024 as they were in Georgia's national championship run a year earlier. Throwing to a lesser receiving corps, Beck appeared to try and get too perfect with his throws at times. The Bulldogs receivers weren't reliable and that looked like it weighed on Beck. How quickly Beck can develop chemistry and trust with his new Hurricanes mates should be a big key in his evaluation.
It's the more complex defensive pressures and more exotic and deceptive coverages that really tripped up Beck in big games. Even in the upset win over Texas in October, Beck threw interceptions on Georgia's second and third offensive drives and struggled all day with now-NFL DBs Andrew Mukuba and Jahdae Barron not sticking to the film script Beck expected. Handling the added degree of difficulty from interior pressure that forces Beck to move off his desired throw point, and doing that while also more adeptly processing the back-end variations.
Beck isn't really a runner, but like Ward a year ago, he's not stiff or reluctant to use his legs to gain a few yards when given the opportunity. Pocket mobility is a little better than advertised, though Beck could anticipate his escape routes a little better. That's true of most "game manager" quarterbacks, which again is not a pejorative in Beck's case. When he got away from being in calm control of the offense is when he struggled the most, a la recent draftees Bo Nix or Hendon Hooker.
There's a lot for Beck to prove in 2025, but the capability for him to rise back up into prominent draft consideration is certainly there. It's going to take some work, however.