Eagles selected North Dakota State QB Cole Payton with the No. 178 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.

25 April 2026

The latest North Dakota State QB prospect is perhaps the program’s most athletic. Payton (6’3”/232) ran a 4.56 40-yard dash at the combine and earned an impressive 9.86 RAS to elevate an already intriguing draft stock. Payton is a fifth-year prospect who only saw one season as a starter, but his big-play ability was undeniable. The lefty rushed for 136-777-13 in his final season with the Bison while throwing for 2,719-16-4. His deep ball completion percent numbers look like something out of a video game, as Payton’s 61.9 percent deep completion rate ranks the highest of any QB prospect since 2015, but there’s still plenty of work to be done here. Scouts are quick to criticize Payton’s throwing mechanics, but his profile also has concerning sack-avoiding totals and scramble rates. His career pressure-to-sack rate of 20.6 percent is a general red flag, and his 17.6 percent scramble rate is the highest of any QB prospect since 2018. North Dakota State has offered up several intriguing QB prospects in recent years, with Carson Wentz turning in the most successful pro career to date. Payton will have some work to do if he hopes to get a chance to shine at the NFL level, but even if he doesn’t fully develop as a pro-style QB, he has enough athleticism to possibly contribute as a gadget player in the right scheme. He’ll now have a chance to develop behind Jalen Hurts and could push Tanner McKee for the QB2 job in camp.