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Oregon Ducks football star Dante Moore is gearing up for a Peach Bowl matchup against conference rival Indiana. A win will get him to the national championship.
He will soon have a decision to make at season’s end. Return to college or enter the NFL Draft?
At this point in time, he is viewed as one of the top two passers in the 2026 class, alongside his upcoming counterpart Fernando Mendoza. The Raiders hold the first overall pick. The Jets are next.
Todd McShay weighed in on Moore’s future with an interesting take. He believes the quarterback should avoid New York at all costs.
Who is Dante Moore?
The 2023 recruit is a product of Michigan having played his high school ball at Martin Luther King in Detroit. A five-star talent, he was considered a Top 5 player in his respective cycle.
Despite boasting offers from notable programs across the country, he narrowed his search to UCLA, LSU, and Oregon. He initially signed with the Bruins before transferring to Eugene after one year.
With UCLA, he threw 11 touchdowns as a freshman to go along with nine interceptions. His consistency was lacking, evidenced by a 53% completion percentage, but he showed flashes of his high ceiling.
Moore chose to leave Los Angeles to assume a backup role behind Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel at Oregon, a move that’s paid dividends in Year 3.
After taking a season to learn the offense and mature, he’s blossomed into one of college football’s best players. As a redshirt sophomore, he threw for 3,280 yards and 28 scores while positioning the Ducks for a title run.
That on-field performance has him trending as one of the most intriguing prospects in the upcoming NFL Draft class. He will be a first-round choice should he choose to leave Oregon.
Will the QB go pro?
Todd McShay believes he should – unless guaranteed to be selected by one team. The draft analyst says Dante Moore should reach out to NFL organizations to gauge interest.
“Would you, as Dante Moore’s representation, not reach out to the Raiders to say, ‘Hey, my client’s trying to make a decision. We can live with going to 30 of the 32 teams… I can’t allow him to go to the New York Jets…’
“He’s got an opportunity to go back to Oregon and make the same amount of money that he’s going to make in his rookie contract. Phil Knight will make that happen.
“So, I can allow my client to go back to Oregon and have another season… or you can pretty much promise me that he’s going to be the No. 1 overall pick… Not one single player in this entire draft, unless they grew up a Jets fan or have some kind of family tie, wants to be a New York Jet.”
McShay has gone on record saying he believes Moore will ultimately return to Oregon. He urges the quarterback to do so if not guaranteed to be selected by the Raiders at No. 1 as that likely means falling to New York at No. 2.
The Jets have not had a winning record in over a decade. Their last four highly drafted quarterbacks failed miserably in the Big Apple (Zach Wilson, Sam Darnold, Christian Hackenberg, Geno Smith).
He does not want to see Dante Moore be the next.
McShay references Oregon’s mega-booster Phil Knight in his reasoning, suggesting the Ducks will make it worth the quarterback’s while to return for one more college season before hopefully becoming a first-round pick in 2027.
In doing so, the passer puts his NFL payday on hold while risking injury or a draft slide. McShay believes the risk is worth the reward of avoiding career tailspin with the Jets.