Cole
Payton.
Cole
Payton.
North Dakota State· 6'3"· 232 lb· 4.56s 40
R5 · #178 · Philadelphia Eagles"Lefty developmental QB with Taysom Hill-style dual-threat profile — historic Combine athlete off one full year of NDSU starts, projects as a gadget/QB3 whose upside hinges on passing reps."Pre-draft read
Left-handed dual-threat quarterback, comfortable working play-action and boot rollouts off a heavy run game. He wins with his legs and lower-body power: build-up speed, a physical stiff-arm, and pop that turns designed QB power and RPO pulls into explosive gains. He layers intermediate seams and drives the deep ball outside the numbers, but his release is elongated and mechanics dip under pressure.
His eyes stay on primary reads too long, and anticipation on rhythm throws behind schedule is a work in progress. Pocket toughness and short-yardage/goal-line packages are his calling card. He is the kind of quarterback a staff will feature in tush-push, red-zone RPO, and boot menus while the drop-back game catches up.
The Philadelphia Eagles' "Philly Special" RPO-heavy run-pass option offense, with its emphasis on QB run concepts and play-action game, would benefit from a quarterback with Payton's unique skill set.
Ideal as a Year 1 red-zone and short-yardage specialist, with a ceiling as a multi-faceted RPO and play-action starter if his passing mechanics and full-field reads develop.
A traditional drop-back passing scheme that prioritizes anticipation, quick-rhythm throws, and extensive pocket progression, would diminish his athletic traits and expose his current mechanical flaws.
Payton offers a rare athletic profile and proven short-yardage prowess that aligns perfectly with the Eagles' offensive identity, providing high-leverage contributions while he refines his passing game.
Cole Payton | 2025 Highlights
Full 2025 senior-season reel — record-setting efficiency campaign, deep-ball touch, and designed-run explosion at NDSU.
NDSU's Cole Payton ready to prove he's one of the best | NFL on NBC
Pre-Combine sit-down with Connor Rogers — Payton on the NDSU quarterback pipeline and his path from redshirt to record-breaker.
The Most Interesting QB in the 2026 NFL Draft
Trait-focused breakdown of the historic Combine testing, lefty release, and Taysom Hill-style projection into the pro game.
This player projects as a developmental quarterback with a strong rushing floor, offering a unique blend of athleticism and short-yardage utility. Teams will consider him for schemes that emphasize play-action, RPOs, and designed quarterback runs, capitalizing on his power and speed as a ball carrier. His ability to move the chains with his legs provides immediate value, even as his passing game evolves.
His evaluation hinged on one dominant redshirt-senior campaign, where he set NDSU single-season records for pass efficiency, yards per attempt, and total offense per play, leading his team to a 12-1 record. Prior to this, he was utilized primarily as a short-yardage runner, accumulating 13 rushing touchdowns in 2023. He played under center or in gun and is comfortable with play-action and boot rollouts.
Evaluators were concerned by his limited starting experience, with only 13 career starts against FCS competition, and an elongated throwing motion. His athletic profile, highlighted by a 4.56 forty-yard dash and 40-inch vertical at 232 pounds, made him an intriguing developmental prospect. Consensus boards had him as a Day-3 target with a potential gadget/Taysom Hill fallback role.
- 01
Historic athletic profile for position
At 232 lbs, he ran 4.56, jumped 40" vertical, and 10'10" broad jump, numbers only seen in elite company.
- 02
Signature efficiency season
Broke NDSU single-season records for pass efficiency (193.8), yards per attempt (12.1), and TD/INT ratio (16/4).
- 03
Elite short-yardage weapon
13 rushing TDs in 2023 and 13 more in 2025 demonstrate goal-line power and contact balance for NFL packages.
- 04
Play-action and boot menu fit
Comfortable under center off NDSU’s downhill run game, he layers seams off half-field reads for modern offenses.
- 05
Leadership and program pedigree
A multi-year captain, he waited his turn and joins the NDSU QB pipeline with praised prep and pro-style install.
- 01
One-year full-time starter
Only 13 career starts against FCS competition; NFL teams project off a single season, not a sustained body of work.
- 02
Elongated throwing motion
His release is long and extends further under pressure; balls arrive late on rhythm throws, risking NFL defensive backs jumping routes.
- 03
Level of competition gap
MVFC defenses do not simulate NFL disguised coverage, meaning late-progression reads and full-field manipulation are developmental.
- 04
Pocket vision under duress
He tends to bail early when the first read is covered, dropping his eyes to the rush instead of climbing the pocket.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.56sp50
- Vertical
- 40inp50
- Broad jump
- 130inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.12sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.36sp50
- Bench
- —rep
| Yr | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | North Dakota State | 13 | 8 | 12 | 51 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | North Dakota State | 14 | 18 | 27 | 289 | 3 | 0 |
| 2024 | North Dakota State | 8 | 10 | 16 | 125 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | North Dakota State | 13 | 162 | 225 | 2719 | 16 | 4 |
| Career | — | 48 | 198 | 280 | 3184 | 21 | 6 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
- Bryce LanceWR10%
- Barika KpeenuRB7%
- Nathan HayesQB5%
#1 of 18 tracked contributors · Production leaned on volume · CFBD — usage x PPA per tracked player
Fellow NDSU lefty who breaks camp as a developmental QB3, contributes on special teams and gadget snaps, and hangs around the league for years as a trusted backup.
Same left-handed FCS-QB dual-threat archetype — physical short-yardage weapon who carves out a decade-long career as a package quarterback / hybrid weapon on a contender.
Athletic small-school gadget QB whose passing reps never scale to NFL starts, bouncing between practice squads before the traits/passing gap ends the runway.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
**Pre-draft context** Cole Payton arrived at North Dakota State in 2021 as the Nebraska Gatorade Player of the Year out of Omaha Westside — a two-star recruit with dual-threat production but slotted behind a stacked NDSU quarterback room featuring Trey Lance recently gone to the NFL, Cam Miller entrenched, and a factory-style pipeline. For four years he waited, contributing as a short-yardage sledgehammer (13 rushing TDs in 2023) and losing most of 2024 to injury. When Miller graduated, Payton finally inherited the offense as a 23-year-old redshirt senior — and immediately rewrote NDSU single-season records for pass efficiency (193.8), yards per attempt (12.1), and total offense per play while leading the Bison to a 12-1 record and second-team FCS All-America honors. Then he detonated the Combine at 232 pounds: 4.56 forty, 40-inch vertical (3rd all-time for a QB), 10-10 broad jump (2nd all-time), 7.12 three-cone, unofficial 9.97 RAS. Teams spent April weighing rare traits and one dominant year against 13 career starts of FCS tape.
**NFL fit — Philadelphia Eagles** Philadelphia doubled down on the NDSU QB pipeline that produced Carson Wentz a decade earlier, spending pick #178 on Payton as a developmental fourth arm behind Jalen Hurts, Andy Dalton, and Tanner McKee. The fit is deliberate: the offensive system already lives on the tush push and short-yardage QB power, and Payton — a 232-pound lefty who ran a 4.56 with a 40-inch vertical — is a plug-and-play battering ram in that package the moment he learns the front. Long term, Philadelphia buys itself a Taysom Hill-style optionality: designed runs, red-zone RPO, potential emergency starter, and a developmental arm that can be rebuilt mechanically over two or three years without pressure to play immediately.
**Retrospective** Too early to grade the pick — Payton entered 2026 with essentially no NFL passing tape and a role that starts as QB4/gadget while the release gets rebuilt. What the evaluation clearly nailed is the fit: a team built around a running quarterback, featuring short-yardage quarterback runs, spending a fifth-rounder on the most physically freakish short-yardage quarterback in the class. Whether it becomes a Taysom Hill-caliber decade or a Trace McSorley footnote depends on how much the passing game closes over the next two camps.