UCLA Bruins Quarterback Nico Iamaleava Projected To Be A First Round Selection In The 2026 NFL Draft

The UCLA Bruins landed quarterback Nico Iamaleava in the transfer portal after he left the Tennessee Volunteers for a variety of reasons. It is interesting that he went to the west coast for the 2025 college football season.

For some time, Iamaleava has been linked to be one of several quarterbacks to be drafted in the first-round of the 2026 NFL Draft. It was a shock when he decided to leave Tennessee for UCLA. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the Bruins’ offense instead of the Volunteers offense.

The 2026 NFL Draft is expected to have much more talent at the quarterback position than it during the 2025 NFL Draft. There could be at least four quarterbacks drafted in the first round or maybe more. Arch Manning of the Texas Longhorns, Drew Allar of the Penn State Nittany Lions, and Garrett Nussmeier of the LSU Tigers.

Another name that could be mentioned in the first round is Iamaleava of the Bruins. The UCLA quarterback can no doubt be a first-round pick if he can get it altogether in the 2025 college football season. It would have been a better look for him if he decided to stay with the Volunteers instead of leaving Tennessee.

Josh Edwards of CBS Sports made a way too early mock draft for the 2026 NFL Draft. He has Iamaleava as a first-round selection at number 16 to the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers will be good enough to not be horrible but not good enough to be great. Edwards said,

“As of writing this, Pittsburgh has not signed Aaron Rodgers. The quarterback room is Mason Rudolph, Skylar Thompson and Will Howard right now. A year ago, Iamaleava was almost a foregone conclusion to be a part of way-too-early mock drafts. The 2025 season did not go as anyone expected and Iamaleava has since transferred back to the West Coast. As with all of these quarterback prospects, Iamaleava has not played at a No. 16 overall level, but the pieces are there if he can put it all together.”

During the 2024 season with the Volunteers, he completed 63.8% of his passes for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns, and five interceptions. His QBR (quarterback rating) was 70.5. It was tied for 36th according to ESPN. He is 6’6″ and weighs 215 lbs.

Iamaleava also rushed for 358 yards on 109 carries and three touchdowns in 2024, along with averaging 3.3 yards per carry. The former Volunteers quarterback better hope he performs well with UCLA in 2025 to stay a first-round pick in 2026. If not, it will be a problem for him. He should fine and perform well and be one of the quarterbacks taking in the 2026 NFL Draft. It would not be a surprise to see Iamaleava get back into the number one pick conversations during the 2025 college football season.