2026 NFL Draft: Steelers QB Dating Game, Vol. 4 The Gungslinger, Mr. Duval, and the Flatliner

The Steelers QB Dating game is back for the penultimate episode of the opening round. Which of these 3 passers will advance to the Round of Five?

The Steelers are in desperate need of a new franchise quarterback. In the weeks leading up to the 2025 college football season, we’ll be examining some of the top college quarterbacks eligible for the 2026 draft. However, we’re going to have some fun along the way. All responses from the “players” in this article are fictitious and stem from my own analysis, which is why some of the answers will offer analysis you would never hear a media-trained quarterback say. If you complain about this feature in the comments, just know that you’re a lint-licker.

If you’re looking for further explanation/context for this series, read our past entries, including:

“Welcome to the Steelers QB Dating Game! Anddddd here’s your host, Steely McBeam!”

Steely McBeam: Welcome back, Yinz! After a brief vacation, we’re back with another episode of the Steelers QB Dating Game! First things first, we have our results from Episode 3. Despite only having 2 career starts, the audience has decided to trust the bloodline and advance Prince Charming, Arch Manning, until the Final Round of Five, where he joins Cade Klubnik and LaNorris Sellers.

Who will the audience advance next? Let’s find out. Here are your contestants!

The Gunslinger

Steely McBeam: Our first contestant had to wait for his chance to start, but after an impressive 2024 season, he’s among the early favorites for the 2025 Heisman trophy award. The son of a current NFL offensive coordinator, this quarterback showed poise and command at the line of scrimmage during his first season as a starter. He’s not the most physically imposing at a listed 6’2 and 200 pounds, but he’s got more than enough arm talent to access each level of the field. He’s never met a throw he didn’t he could make — for better or worse — a round of applause, please, for the Gunslinger!

Mr. Duval

Steely McBeam: Hailing from Jacksonville, Florida, our next passer has plenty of experience in the limelight, and he looks the part at 6’4 and 220 pounds. After starting two seasons at a prestigious SEC school, he’s headed back to his home state for the 2025 season. His name was bandied around before last season as a Heisman hopeful and potential top pick, but an up-and-down season took him out of the Heisman race and left his draft stock plummeting. Despite this, his former team made it to the conference championship game and finished 11-3 overall, despite having fewer offensive playmakers than the previous season. Will a change of scenery help this signal caller rehabilitate his draft stock? Let’s hear it for Mr. Duval!

The Flatliner

Steely McBeam: Today’s final contestant is attempting a comeback story of his own. Taking his name from the 1990 film, this signal caller won two state titles in high school on his way to becoming 247Sport’s No. 4 overall prospect in his recruiting class. Despite these lofty expectations, he had a bumpy debut, starting just five games in 2023. After transferring to one of the nation’s powerhouse schools, he played just a handful of snaps in 2024. That year of inactivity has dropped him significantly down draft boards. Has that time on the bench prepared him to take over in 2025? At 6’3 and 210 pounds, he has adequate size and has displayed functional mobility, even though he was not used much in the running game. A strong showing in 2025 would go a long way towards resuscitating his draft stock. Please give it up for the Flatliner!

Steely McBeam: As always, we like to start by having each of our contestants describe their 2024 season. The floor is yours, gents.

The Gunslinger: Like many quarterbacks in this competition, 2024 was my first major action. After redshirting my freshman year, I took second in a three-man quarterback competition in 2022. A lot of guys would have taken that as an opportunity to transfer to a school that would let them pay. However, I felt connected to the school and sat patiently for my turn. The other guy did win the Heisman, so it’s hard to say the coaches made the wrong call.

Our year didn’t start off how we wanted, with a seven-point loss to Southern California in our home opener. I had a solid performance, completing 76.9% of my passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns, but I threw the game-ending interception after USC took the lead with just eight seconds remaining.

We turned things around quickly, however, and reeled off six straight wins. During that stretch, I led the offense to an average of 36.5 points per game, which included two wins over ranked conference rivals.

A three-game skid in conference play featured some of the worst ball I played all year, but the team rebounded to win our final games, including our bowl game. More importantly, for my personal development, a light seemed to click on in mid-November. In our first nine games of the season, I threw 11 interceptions and had 14 turnover-worthy plays. But over the final four games of our season, I threw just one interception and had only four turnover-worthy plays.

I finished the year fifth in the FBS in passing yards and was one of just six passers to eclipse 4,000 yards. The other five passers were each drafted in April’s draft. I also finished tied for 10th in the FBS in passing touchdowns.

Mr. Duval: By all accounts, my school had an incredibly successful year. We were undefeated at home, went 6-2 in conference play and 11-3 overall, with all three of our losses coming against ranked opponents and in the College Football Playoffs.

And yet for our school, which has recently competed for national titles, this was a disappointment.

Things never fully looked right with our offense. We saw a significant talent drain in our wide receiver corps from 2023 to 2024, and I struggled to find a rhythm in the offense. To make matters worse, after a fairly clean 2023 season, my turnovers ballooned last season. I threw three interceptions in three different games, and I threw eight interceptions during a three-week span in the middle of our conference schedule.

While I managed to tie for 14th in the FBS with 28 passing touchdowns, it often felt like the team was winning in spite of my play when matched up against our toughest opponents. My touchdown total also starts to feel a bit inflated when you consider that 14 of those touchdowns came in three games against Tennessee Tech, Georgia Tech, and UMass. No insult to those schools, but they are easily dwarfed by our standing and recruiting power among the college ranks.

To make matters worse, a UCL injury I suffered during the first half of our conference championship game shut me down for the rest of the season. That meant I missed the playoffs, and the team was defeated in the second round of play following a bye.

A little over a week later, I announced that I would be transferring to a new school for the 2025 season.

The Flatliner: As a backup, I saw very little of the field in 2024. In total, I had nine dropbacks and attempted eight passes. I completed seven of those for a total of 49 yards.

You’d have to go back to 2023 to get a better idea of my abilities, but even that is a strange story. The head coach I had during my freshman year is a well-respected playcaller — and recently made the jump back to the NFL — but his handling of our quarterback situation that year was bizarre. Over the first month of the season, he rotated quarterbacks and never seemed to settle in on one passer. That made it difficult to feel secure in the job, as mistakes could — and did — land each of us on the bench for extended periods. All told, I appeared in nine games with five starts.

Our team’s offense was a mess. I was constantly under duress from our offensive line’s inability to pass protect, and looked uncomfortable in the pocket as a result. On top of all that, our head coach was clearly checked out. At the season’s end, he took a job as offensive coordinator at a more respected football school, and I hit the transfer portal before the calendar even reached December.

My college career hasn’t gone how I picture it would so far. But I’m hoping to prove that I learned a lot in 2024 and that I’m ready to apply all the talent and potential that made me a top recruit in the first place.

Steely McBeam: We like them tough here in Pittsburgh. How did each of you perform with the defense bearing down on you?

The Flatliner: Again, I have to go back to 2023, but I think there is reason for optimism in my performance. I faced an exceedingly high rate of pressure and had a sack rate that needs to come down, but I also kept a respectable completion percentage for those conditions. For context, my 44.1% completion percentage ranks seventh among all 15 quarterbacks in this series, and my 8.4 yards per attempt under pressure would have ranked fifth in the FBS in 2024. Also, my average of 3.17 seconds to throw under pressure is the best figure posted in this series, meaning I am quick to make a decision and throw the ball in most cases, despite my high sack totals.

Mr. Duval: Like most things in my evaluation, the answer is slightly complicated. On the one hand, I did a decent job avoiding sacks, and I did manage to throw five touchdowns. On the other hand, my completion percentage when pressured was abysmal, and my yards per attempt cratered. My turnover-worthy play rate is also the worst among the 15 quarterbacks highlighted in this series.

The Gunslinger: As my moniker might imply, I’ve never met a throw I didn’t think I could make. That accounts for when there’s pressure in my face as well. My completion percentage under pressure was 19th-best in the FBS, and my 852 passing yards ranked ninth. My ability to read defenses pre-snap and come up with answers for pressure is another tool in my bag.

Steely McBeam: None of you are prolific runners, so I’ll change the tenor of this question. If you could compare your running style/mobility to a current NFL quarterback, who would it be?

Mr. Duval: It may be an obvious one, but based on our frames and desire to stay in the pocket, Jared Goff wouldn’t be a bad comp for me.

The Flatliner: I was not used much in the design passing game, and my instincts lean towards finding a play downfield more than tucking and running. Still, I’m not unathletic and this could be an element of my game that could be unlocked. I think Jordan Love and Bryce Young are similar movers to me.

The Gunslinger: Baker Mayfield is my spirit animal.

Steely McBeam: Thank you, gentlemen. And with that, we are nearly out of time. Let’s have each of you step out from behind the curtain and reveal yourselves!

The Gunslinger — Garrett Nussmeier, Louisiana State

Mr. Duval — Carson Beck, Miami

The Flatliner — Dante Moore, Oregon

Steely McBeam: And now the time has come for Yinz’ voices to be heard! As we head to the poll, a reminder that only The Flatliner will have the option to return to school, so both the Gunslinger and Mr. Duval will be coming out this year. Cast your vote below for who you’d like to see advance to the final round!

What are your thoughts on these prospects? Let us know in the comments! And keep an eye out for future “episodes” in the coming weeks.