Weighted On-Target Percentage: Final 2026 NFL Draft QB ball placement and accuracy primer
Who were the most accurate quarterbacks this past season from this 2026 NFL Draft crop of quarterbacks? The top name will not surprise you, but the rest might.
The 2026 NFL Draft is nearing, so it’s finally time to have the conversation about the quarterback class. So, after charting thousands of passing attempts this season, it’s time to bust out the final Weighted On-Target Percentage ball placement and accuracy primer.
This class would be a more enticing class on paper in terms of accuracy had Oregon’s Dante Moore declared, who flaunted quite a high number. However, after he returned to school, only two quarterbacks in this 2026 class boasted an above-average Weighted On-Target Percentage.
If you’ve read through my draft guide, then you know how I rank these quarterbacks. However, here we are talking about their accuracy profiles (although I do rank and tier them at the end). Again, the process of charting quarterbacks and tallying up a final number can be found here.
So, how does this quarterback class look on paper? Let’s take a look at their final Weighted On-Target Percentages and how that looks against other draft classes historically.
Weighted On-Target Percentage Averages
I have been charting quarterbacks since the 2019 season. However, I clipped out my earlier data as I do not trust that my eyes knew what they were looking at back then. So, the data I have is over the last five years, going back to the 2021 season.
Here are the averages that I am working off of in terms of ball placement and accuracy to the four levels of the field that I account for:
Short Game (0-9 yards): 85.50%
Intermediate (10-24 yards) MOF: 68.61%
Intermediate (10-24 yards) Outside the Numbers: 61.80%
Deep Ball (25+ yards): 52.88%
Total WOT%: 63.63%
Total WOT% among first round picks: 66.42%
So, how do the nine quarterbacks that I pulled full profiles for stack up to these averages? Let’s take a look.
Should this be a surprise to anyone?
Mendoza has been pinpoint for the past two seasons. Even going back to the Cal tape in 2024, the tape that had me ranking him QB1 coming out of summer scouting Mendoza’s ball placement and accuracy has been off the charts. And that resulted in an astronomically high Weighted On-Target Percentage of 75.05% this season.
This is the highest number I’ve ever charted, edging out Jayden Daniels at 74.26% in 2024.
The biggest difference between Mendoza’s summer scouting Weighted On-Target Percentage from his 2024 tape to this number has been the leap in his deep ball accuracy. Mendoza was on-target on just 50% of these throws a year ago, but that number leapt to 70% this year at Indiana. Nearly every throw deep down the field was a drop in the bucket.
He was QB1 for me in April of 2025, and he ends the cycle as QB1 and the consensus top pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.