The 2026 NFL Draft might still be months away, but one thing is becoming crystal clear. Multiple teams will be looking for new signal callers next season. ESPN’s NFL draft analyst Jordan Reid released his first mock draft for the 2026 class this week. He’s got one AFC West team going for South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers. 

That team is the Las Vegas Raiders, predicted to pick the 6-foot-3, 240-pound dual-threat quarterback with the ninth overall pick. The reason? Well, Geno Smith simply “hasn’t worked out so far in Las Vegas.” The numbers back that up in brutal fashion. Smith signed a two-year, $75 million contract with the Raiders after being traded from Seattle, but through six games, he’s thrown a league-leading 10 interceptions. He has also been ranked 28th in the NFL with a dismal 38.2 QBR.

Smith’s passer rating sits at just 77.6, and those turnovers have been absolutely killer for a Raiders team that’s limped to a 2-4 record with wins only against New England and Tennessee. Reid notes that “Vegas could be on the hunt for another signal-caller.” Given Smith’s turnover issues and the fact that he’s thrown three interceptions in two separate games this season, it’s hard to argue with that assessment.​

So what exactly has Sellers done to position himself as a potential first-round pick despite playing for a South Carolina team that’s been underwhelming offensively? Through five games in 2025, Sellers has completed 58 of 87 passes (66.7%) for 886 yards with four touchdowns and just one interception. He’s added 98 rushing yards and a touchdown on the ground. But his 2.04 yards-per-carry average shows he’s been more of a pocket passer than a scrambler this season. The Gamecocks sit dead last in the SEC in total offense and rushing offense. That has made it difficult for LaNorris Sellers to showcase his abilities in a consistent way.

Over his 21-game career at South Carolina, he’s thrown for 3,630 yards with 24 touchdowns against nine interceptions. He’s also been a legitimate dual threat with 842 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. Those career numbers reveal a quarterback who can beat you with his arm and his legs, even if the 2025 season hasn’t been his breakout campaign.

The thing about LaNorris Sellers that has NFL evaluators intrigued is not about what he’s done this year. It’s about what he could become. Reid himself admits that Sellers “hasn’t played Round 1-caliber ball in 2025.” But then he drops this telling quote from an NFC assistant general manager: “The traits will convince someone to take him early.” 

That’s the entire story right there. At 6-3 and 240 pounds, LaNorris Sellers has the prototypical size for an NFL quarterback, and his skill set is what Reid describes as “awesome.” Earlier in the year, Reid compared LaNorris Sellers to Donovan McNabb and mentioned that a “meteoric rise” was possible if he could improve his pocket awareness and ball security issues, particularly fumbles.

The fact that multiple outlets projected Sellers as a top-five pick before the season started shows just how high scouts are on his raw talent. He’s the quarterback whose physical tools and arm strength make coaches think they can develop him into something special, even if the production hasn’t been elite-level yet.​​

The O-Line problem that’s holding Sellers back

Jordan Reid and other NFL evaluators see first-round potential in LaNorris Sellers, and with good reason. But there’s a glaring issue that’s making it nearly impossible for him to showcase those traits this season. South Carolina’s offensive line is absolutely failing him. The Gamecocks sit at 3-3 after a surprising upset over LSU, but that win came at a cost. 

The Tigers absolutely brutalized Sellers, sacking him five times and pressuring him on a staggering 72% of his dropbacks. He managed just 124 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception. And honestly, it’s hard to blame him when he’s getting hit before he can even finish his progressions. South Carolina ranks 124th nationally in sacks allowed with 19 this season. The brutal part is that Sellers knows exactly what the problem is, and he’s being painfully honest about it. “I mean, yeah, just makes… this is hard,” Sellers said when asked about the struggling offensive line. Against Mizzou, he was sacked five times again. 

“Football’s already hard as it is. It’s just a lot, because it’s kind of like our sub breaks down. It’s kind of like I got them to work the ball, so I got to make it right,” Sellers explained. What’s impressive about Sellers, though, is that he’s not throwing his teammates under the bus even when he has every right to. “So it’s kind of like they go make a mistake, like we all got to, like, work together, if that makes sense,” he said. Put him behind a competent offensive line, and you might see the player Reid envisions at pick nine.