It was not easy, but Dante Moore made the best decision for himself. Rather than enter the 2026 NFL Draft prematurely, he opted to come back to Oregon for one more season. Money is not the issue, as he will surely be able to capitalized on a boatload of NIL opportunities between now and next spring. While he would have been QB2 on most talent evaluators' big boards, Moore chose to come back.
According to where ESPN's Bill Connelly has him ranked among the Power Four, Moore is validated.
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr
- Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin
- Ole Miss Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss
- Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning
- USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava
- Oregon Ducks quarterback Dante Moore
- Oklahoma State Cowboys quarterback Drew Mestemaker
- Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton
- Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Brendan Sorsby
- Auburn Tigers quarterback Byrum Brown
Moore coming in sixth behind CJ Carr, Julian Sayin, Trinidad Chambliss, Arch Manning, and Jayden Maiava suggests he made the right call to come back to school. Maybe Moore did not want to play for the New York Jets, who are picking at No. 2? Then again, going a pick later to the Arizona Cardinals at No. 3 might have been a great opportunity for him. We will never know. For now, Moore still remains...
The first paragraph in Connelly's blurb about Moore shows that he is a believer in his decison-making.
"When you're receiving top-five draft hype, it's hard to say no to the NFL whether you're actually ready or not. That Moore knew he wasn't ready and returned for one more year was pretty impressive."
Further on down in his blurb, Connelly made it a point to say Moore saves his worst for the big stage.
"Against the best defenses he faced -- Indiana (twice), Texas Tech and Iowa -- he struggled mightily, throwing more picks (five) than touchdowns (three), averaging only 9.7 yards per completion and taking 11 sacks ... Simply having a more experienced and stable set of options at his disposal will help. So will pure experience."
Either way, Moore must learn how to rise to the occasion more during his final year of college football.
Dante Moore ranked No. 6 in Bill Connelly's best Power Four QBs for 2026
Right now, Moore would be a smart pick to win next year's Heisman Trophy. He is an immensely talented quarterback, playing at a school that has made the College Football Playoff each of the last two seasons. While losing both star coordinators Will Stein to Kentucky and Tosh Lupoi to Cal could put more pressure upon Dan Lanning as a head coach, it may result in Moore taking more ownership.
That right there may actually be what propels to the top of Heisman voting if he plays out of his mind this season. There is no way around it. Losing Stein and Lupoi to Power Four coaching opportunities does make Oregon worse off. Since Drew Mehringer and Chris Hampton were promoted from within, the national media is still learning about them as top assistants. They do know who Moore is, though.
When a quarterback has a first-round grade and decides to come back, it could go one of two ways. They could be validated for it like Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck were in coming back. They could also be forgotten about, or exposed to some degree, like Matt Barkley was during his final season at USC. There are also guys like Blaine Gabbert who strike while the iron is hot in a weak NFL Draft class.
Ultimately, Moore may just need more starts than anything. Last year was his first season as the Oregon starter. He played sparingly the year prior backing up Dillon Gabriel during his first year in Eugene. While he did register a few starts during his freshman season at UCLA, that was during the end of Chip Kelly's run in Los Angeles. A full season's worth of starts should serve Moore in the end.
If he plays up to his potential, he could eclipse every player ranked ahead of him to win the Heisman.