Trinidad Chambliss has taken the College Football Playoff by storm. The Ole Miss Rebels have advanced two rounds despite head coach Lane Kiffin departing for LSU and playing around in the portal, and a huge part of that is the leadership of their senior transfer quarterback from Ferris State.
Chambliss’ improvisation skills and arm talent have many wondering if the 23-year-old can overcome obvious limitations and emerge as a top quarterback prospect in this weak 2026 NFL Draft class. Which teams could be interested in the dynamic, dual-threat quarterback?
Trinidad Chambliss Scouting Report: Will He Work in the NFL?
Let’s briefly set expectations about Chambliss, who represents a common disconnect between fans and scouts. His aforementioned age and height, which likely measure closer to 5’10” or 5’11” at the unfiltered NFL Scouting Combine, have raised legitimate questions about whether he can sustainably be a weekly, high-level NFL starter. Fernando Mendoza (6’5″) and Dante Moore (6’3″) definitely have fewer questions there.
The modern NFL has been involved in better protecting smaller quarterbacks, and Chambliss’ key strengths of instinctual playmaking, quick processing, and a fundamental understanding of coverages are what have allowed him to dominate the college level.
The name that could be brought up frequently in Chambliss’ discourse is Dillon Gabriel, who struggled to create throwing lanes due to his short frame and had a difficult rookie season for the Browns as a third-round pick.
However, Chambliss’ off-schedule style of play is closer to a Kyler Murray or Johnny Manziel, who both had off-field concerns that perhaps stunted their growth more than physical ability. “Character” and work ethic are two of Chambliss’ most lauded qualities.
In a weak draft, he could be viewed as a dynamic backup that requires a low enough investment to start for multiple weeks and see what happens, potentially. I’m not sure his off-schedule skillset will be coveted in timing offenses like the Rams or 49ers run, but there will be suitors.
Best Landing Spots for Trinidad Chambliss in the 2026 NFL Draft
Pittsburgh Steelers
If there’s a team that desperately could use the “juice” that Chambliss will inject in an offense, it’s a Pittsburgh Steelers scoring unit that’s just 22nd in total passing yards entering Week 18 yet again.
Aaron Rodgers is 42, so even if his 2025 season exceeded the expectations of most, he’s likely around just next year at most.
As a mid-round selection, Chambliss could enter the fold as a backup to the future Hall of Famer with the potential to be a high-level contributor in both the run and pass games that Arthur Smith envisioned with Desmond Ridder as a third-round pick in 2022. Ridder’s downfall was decision-making, especially in the red zone. That’s an area where Chambliss truly shines.
In 2025, Rodgers’ aDOT (6.4) and time to throw (2.47 seconds) are both the shortest in the league for passers with at least 200 attempts. There isn’t a ton of arm talent required to run this system, which also helped propel Ryan Tannehill in Tennessee to a requisite level.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
As a quarterback currently succeeding in Chambliss’ mold of a shorter, off-schedule playmaker while also not being a true “runner”, Baker Mayfield is a decent comparison for the prospect’s ceiling.
One of the sport’s best GMs, Jason Licht, certainly has his wheels turning at the quarterback position after a disappointing 2025 campaign that will result in the team’s first losing record since 2019.
Mayfield (62.8% completion rate) has indeed regressed due to some combination of wideout injuries and losing Liam Coen to Jacksonville. Plus, the team’s backup plan was not a strong one, considering they plucked Teddy Bridgewater away from the sidelines of a local high school.
Tampa isn’t shifting quarterbacks yet, but is it out of the realm of possibility that Tampa Bay selects Chambliss in the middle rounds, he spells a dinged-up Mayfield, and looks awesome around the Bucs’ complement of weapons? Remember, Mayfield competed with Kyle Trask before doing that very same thing.
Licht has been a magician in the draft in the 2020s, allowing flexibility to potentially see if Chambliss’ college playmaking can produce a high-end backup…or more.
New York Giants
Outside of a brief pit stop with Austin Simmons, Chambliss succeeded Jaxson Dart in Lane Kiffin’s system at Ole Miss. Could he back him up in the Big Apple?
New York will undoubtedly role into 2026 with Dart, who ranks 15th in total QBR at ESPN (58.1), as its starter. In a world where we could turn injury sliders off, Dart might have potential to be a top-10 starter as a dual-threat highlight machine.
However, several visits to the blue tent have marred the rookie’s 2025 campaign. New York has also been thinking to itself that, if Dart is the primary plan, they’ll need a strong backup plan.
Enter Chambliss, whose mobility would be a seamless fit into whatever system is built under a new coaching staff around Dart. We just saw that transition work well in Oxford. In fact, Dart’s college QBR last year (86.1) was actually a bit behind where Chambliss’ (86.8) currently sits.
The downside to this pick could be controversy down the road if Chambliss stays healthier and plays just as well, but that could be a good problem to have.
Kansas City Chiefs
Given the play style of both Gardner Minshew and Chris Oladokun, it appears Andy Reid does want to keep a little bit of the “magic” that Patrick Mahomes can provide off-schedule from his backup quarterback. The problem is that those two have been downright ineffective spelling the great quarterback after Mahomes tore his ACL in December.
Well, Kansas City may or may not have Mahomes back for the beginning of the season, so it’s not crazy to think they draft a quarterback after having cycled through veterans or undrafted prospects as QB2s for most of this era.
However, as much as I love this fit for both the Chiefs and Chambliss himself, it does seem reckless that Kansas City, which only has six draft choices in 2026, uses a third-round pick on a quarterback that will ideally never see the field when Mahomes is healthy.
Las Vegas Raiders
With a loss in Week 18 to the Chiefs, the Las Vegas Raiders will wrap up a 2-15 season that should lead to the #1 overall pick and yet another head coach in Sin City.
I know Raiders fans are disheartened to hear this, but Vegas selecting a first-round quarterback for the first time since 2007 is no lock. If Dante Moore heads back to school, it’s possible Vegas doesn’t love Mendoza at the 1.01 and prefers to trade back for a haul. Outside of Ashton Jeanty, Brock Bowers, and Maxx Crosby, this is a roster missing just about everything else.
Las Vegas already has three fourth-round picks, so picking up additional mid-round selections would make a roll of the dice on Chambliss, or some high-upside quarterback, a no-brainer. Cutting Geno Smith does save the team $8.5 million against the cap, too.
The Raiders passed on Shedeur Sanders as a fairly obvious gamble with four Day 2 selections last year and probably regret it. Does John Spytek feel like he’d rather invest a later pick in Chambliss than the top overall pick in Mendoza? He has time to decide, and we may get a head-to-head matchup of the two later this month.
