NFL Draft expert: South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers is a "first tier" quarterback prospect

South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers is one of the top players in college football. He is a top-10 Heisman Trophy candidate, has earned multiple preseason All-American selections, and is coming off the Gamecocks’ first coaches-selected All-SEC quarterback season in program history.

He’s also one of the top players eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft.

Recently, during an episode of “The McShay Show,” draft expert Todd McShay argued that Sellers is a “first tier” prospect ahead of next April’s draft.

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Sellers, who set a South Carolina single-month record last November with 16 touchdowns, is a dynamic dual-threat who McShay believes is the best runner of any draft-eligible quarterback. “I can confidently say he’s got this special trait of mobility–it’s speed, it’s twitchiness, it’s extending, it’s instincts on the move–that nobody else in this class has,” he explained.

That mobility, coupled with Sellers’ potential as a passer, reminds McShay of some of the best in the NFL. He compared Sellers (at least stylistically) to Lamar Jackson, Josh Allen, and Jalen Hurts. Those players have combined for three MVPs and a Super Bowl ring over the past six years.

McShay said that Sellers, like Jackson, Allen, and Hurts when they were prospects, is a dynamic runner with talent but some flaws as a passer. However, also like those Pro Bowl talents, Sellers has the work ethic to keep improving. In the meantime, his mobility gives him extra time to develop.

“Quarterbacks who have the mobility? They don’t need all the answers to the test in terms of understanding defenses, understanding protections, understanding where to go with the football,” McShay said. “[Mobile quarterbacks] don’t have to think like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Drew Brees. They don’t have to because they have the mobility to offset that. So, the answers you don’t have as a rookie, you can get by by running around and creating and extending, and doing all those things.”

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“I see it with Sellers,” said McShay. “I see a guy who is going to continue to improve the mental part, and I’m certain with his mechanics and the consistency as a passer…I’ve heard (he’s making big-time strides as a pocket passer).”

McShay thinks another year at South Carolina could help push Sellers to be even better. “What Sellers is today as a passer…is not going to be what we see in October or the end of the season. It’s not going to be what we see in 2026.” He also believes in No. 16’s ability to grow and develop thanks to his high character and intelligence. “This is an All-SEC Honor Roll [guy].”

He continued, “You know why I see it with Sellers? Because you look, and early in the season last year, there were entirely too many [mistakes]…Then, all of a sudden, the light started to come on. So, I see a guy who is going to continue to improve.”

However, even if Sellers doesn’t return to Columbia for another year, McShay is confident that he will be an early draft pick. “I believe in him,” the draft analyst stated. “If he chooses to leave for the NFL? You can’t tell me he’s not going to be in this first tier of quarterbacks.”

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McShay included Sellers as one of three tier one quarterbacks ahead of April’s draft. Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier are the other two.

In a stroke of irony sure to please football fans, all three of those quarterbacks will face off this fall. LSU plays at Clemson this weekend. South Carolina plays at LSU in October. Clemson plays at South Carolina in November.

For now, though, Sellers has five games to play before meeting up with Nussmeier. He will then play five more before facing Klubnik to close the 2025 season. That slate starts this weekend.

Sellers and South Carolina will take on the Virginia Tech Hokies on Sunday to open the season. ESPN will air the non-conference matchup, and the ESPN app will make it available via streaming.

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