Nico Iamaleava

[Twopointtry]

Silly Season

Since draft projections even 3 months prior to the draft often prove to be way off, trying to do them a full year prior to a draft is largely a pointless exercise. In a way-too-early mock by CBSSports for the 2026 draft, Garrett Nussmeier was the 1st overall selection. PFF in their mock had him as the 5th overall pick. In the actual draft, Nussmeier fell all the way to nearly an UDFA, not selected until the compensatory part of the 7th round. Drew Allar (3rd round) and Carson Beck (3rd round) also were commonly listed as being high 1st round picks in mocks.

At least 3 major mocks had the Rams drafting a QB, but none of them were named Ty Simpson. CBSSports gave us Cade Klubnik at 27. He was the 4th overall pick in PFF's mock. Klubnik was a 4th round pick in the actual draft. SI sent us Sam Leavitt at 27. He was the 8th overall pick in PFF's mock. Leavitt is currently projected to be a middle round selection in the 2027 draft. PFF had the Rams taking LaNorris Sellers at 26. South Carolina struggled last season and Sellers's draft stock has cratered, falling from being a 1st round prospect to being viewed as a Day 3 pick.

A name you didn't find in the 1st round of any of those mocks is Fernando Mendoza, though B/R did predict that he'd emerge as the top QB prospect for the 2026 draft. In the same article, B/R suggested that Nico Iamaleava could have a strong year at UCLA and cement his status as a 1st round QB. Getting one out of 2 correct isn't bad when it comes to draft predictions.

Currently, Iamaleava is typically ranked as a Day 3 prospect. Multiple boards have him low enough to be an UDFA. One prominent draft media expert who is a former NFL scout gave him an UDFA grade. A year ago, that same writer gave him a 3rd round grade.

Iamaleava is infamous for the messy way he left Tennessee in the spring of 2025 to transfer to UCLA. Some viewed it as a symptom of how NIL money was ruining college football. In a similar way to how Brendan Sorsby's gambling issue became a lightning rod that derailed his draft hopes, I wonder if the emotions of how people reacted to Iamaleava's transfer are influencing how they evaluate him as an NFL prospect. Carson Palmer experienced this in the NFL when he forced his way out of Cincinnati and his reputation took a hit.

I found Iamaleava to be a very interesting QB to study. He has some excellent physical tools, but his play is inconsistent. He makes errors processing the field and with the accuracy of throws. In the end, I have a higher grade on Iamaleava than he's listed on draft boards. Moreover, I think that he still has a chance to experience a Jayden Daniels rise and become a 1st round pick in the 2027 draft. I remember reading somewhere, I don't remember exactly the source, a rumor that NFL scouts are higher on Iamaleava than the draft media. The identical thing was said about Daniels prior to his final season in college.

The Rams just drafted a QB in the 1st round. Maybe Stafford will play several more years. Do we need another QB? Maybe, maybe not. If the Rams win the SB this year, Stafford could decide to go out on top and ride off into the sunset. Simpson hasn't even appeared in a preseason game yet. We don't know if he'll turn out to be a franchise QB. If Nico doesn't improve his draft stock and remains in the Garrett Nussmeier range, what's wrong with adding a QB like that in the late rounds? Just as possible insurance, even as a QB3 for the short term. Just as with the 2026 draft, a ton can change in just one year, so it is way too early to even think about all those questions.

It will take some time to explain why I kind of like Iamaleava. We'll dive into detail with some of his plays. If we compare him head-to-head with Ty Simpson, I believe that Nico has a higher ceiling and a lower floor. If you needed to play an NFL game today, Simpson is the better option. If you needed a QB say 4 years from now, things get cloudy. If we put Nico on the Rams, I don't think it would be crazy to imagine an outcome where he beats out Simpson down the road and becomes the franchise starter, basically the reverse of the RGIII and Kirk Cousins situation that Sean McVay played a critical role in when he was with Washington.

Would I draft Nico for the Rams next year? Umm... I don't know. It's complicated. That's not something we have to decide right now. I think it is sufficient to say that he's a QB that is worthwhile keeping a close eye on for the upcoming 2026 season. Especially if you are a Simpson skeptic and not convinced that he's the long-term answer. There are other QBs out there as well. One that I feel fits McVay's "type" is Josh Hoover, the new Indiana QB. Much of his game reminds me of John Wolford. Low ceiling, but a candidate to be a reliable backup. Nico is different, he's a wildcard with starter upside and it is very difficult to steal a starting QB outside of the 1st round of the draft.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 1: Background

Name, age, school: Nicholaus Iamaleava Jr., turns 23 years old in September of 2027, redshirt junior UCLA, previously Tennessee. Sociology major.

Size, estimated speed: Listed 6'5'' tall, 215 pounds. Draftbuzz 4.75 seconds in 40. Draftscout 6'5 1/4'' tall, 215 pounds, 4.54 seconds in 40.

5-star and 4-star recruit from Long Beach, CA. Samoan descent. 7 siblings, including 2 who played college volleyball. Brother Madden is a UCLA football teammate. Played volleyball in HS. Backup to Joe Milton (6th round 2024, Patriots) in 2023. Starter in 2024.

In the winter and spring that followed, Nico's representatives (including his dad) reportedly tried to negotiate a raise from the NIL collective that would pay him $4 million, though his reps deny that they made such a request. The salary would have been consistent with what other top college QBs such as Carson Beck were making. Note as well that the amount would have been twice the salary that Carson Beck is going to be paid in the NFL. The new NIL landscape has skewed things such that some players end up taking big pay cuts when they leave college for the pros. Just before UT's spring game in 2025, Nico decided to enter the transfer portal. The move backfired, because he didn't land a big payday with a different school. He reportedly ended up making less money at UCLA and ended up on a bad team.

UCLA fired their HC after a 0-4 start in 2025, resulting in a change at OC in the middle of the season. UCLA has a new HC for 2026.

2023 (5 games, 1 start) 28/45, 314 yards, 2TDs, 1 Fum, 20-71-3 rushing, 7 sacks
2024 (11 starts): 213/335 (63.8% compl), 2,616 yards, 201.2 yards per game, 19 TDs, 5 INTs, 9 Fum, 109-369-3 rushing, 28 sacks
2025 (11 starts): 208/323 (64.4% compl), 1,928 yards, 175.3 yards per game, 13 TDs, 7 INTs, 5 Fum, 112-505-4 rushing, 27 sacks

Concussion in 2024. Multiple concussions and neck spasm in 2025. Right knee injury in 2025 but returned later in that game.

Daniel Kelly (a former Jets scout): UDFA grade, a PS player (+) Flexibility, escapability, poised, tough, competitive, quiet feet, balanced base, mechanics, sidearm throws, pushes ball downfield, legit runner (-) Ball security, deep ball accuracy, holds ball too long, heavy RPO scheme, streaky, average pocket awareness, inconsistent working through progressions, 1st read dependent, questionable throwing decisions, tries to aim the ball too much, takes a lot of contact.

When you read what I have to say, it will be almost 100% the same as Kelly's breakdown. So, why am I giving Nico a draft worthy grade while Kelly has him as an UDFA? This isn't a science, I'm a human being, not a computer. A year ago, Kelly was much kinder to Nico and had him as a 3rd round prospect, saying that he was a developmental backup. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Draftbuzz 9th QB, 3rd round, 92 overall. (+) Rare size, easy velocity to drive every throw, quick release, exceptional mobility. (-) Low production in 2025, 28 sacks in 11 games, inconsistent downfield accuracy, raw reading the field.
NFLMDD sim 152
Drafttek 272
PFSN sim 241

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 2: Strengths

Bona fide NFL starter arm strength. Loose arm, can throw on the move to either left or right, 45 yards downfield, with accuracy and power. Natural and effortless arm strength, as if the ball is light. Drives deep passes with one normal step, doesn't have to change his stride length or mechanics to dig for extra power and distance. Easy 50-yard bomb to the sideline from middle of the field.

Very quick and efficient drop from shotgun, perfectly balanced at the top of the drop, which translates to NFL game speed to be ready for early pass rush pressure. If no RPO, just normal drop, clean and efficient footwork.

Very quick to set up and throw after pulling ball from RB on RPOs, with proper footwork and body mechanics. Extremely quick to properly reset his feet when reading progression from one side of field to opposite side, maintaining proper lower body alignment to the target.

Wild West gunslinger. One of the fastest "draws from his holster" I've ever seen from a college QB, able to very quickly load and fire with proper mechanics. Usually, to get the ball out in the quick game, QBs will alter their motion and not set their feet in order to expedite the process. Nico doesn't have to do that, he's so super twitchy he can get both his lower and upper body organized. In the modern NFL, I think this is one of his critical attributes that will translate to the pro game.

Elite level calmness and composure throwing when there's heavy pressure in his face. Even when he knows he's about to take a big hit, his feet and legs are typically still and quiet, anchored to the ground, zero panic, throwing mechanics don't break down in congested space, something that is very rare for a college QB. Stands tall in pocket and delivers against heavy blitz up the middle.

It is 3rd down in the red zone. Offense uses a rub route to try to get slant route open. WR doesn't cleanly get into his route, split second delay. Zone blitz by defense has an underneath defender dropping right under that slant. QB knows pass rush is coming, but he's patient, calm feet, no panic, lets the slant develop into the 2nd passing window, delivers TD pass.

Slant pass. The OLB is completely unblocked, QB sees him coming and knows he's about to get crushed. Stands tall, calm, completes the pass, QB gets decked and knocked to the ground as he releases the pass.

Long levers, tall with long arms and legs. Natural athlete, fluid and sudden movement.

Very good zip, tight spiral. Ball gets on the WR quickly and can beat DBs driving on the route. Able to challenge small windows and fit the pass between defenders. Takes some weight off dump off throws to make the ball easier to catch, not all fastballs. Can change his arm angle to throw 3/4 or sidearm to get the pass around pass rushers in his face.

Compact delivery, ball doesn't dip in windup, goes straight up then out.

For the most part his throwing mechanics are super clean and reliable. Proper release point, helmet perfectly balanced, shoulders level, left arm tucked, feet aligned properly, stance is proper width. Sometimes, I think he doesn't get a proper upper body rotation and his left shoulder gets stuck, but IMO his accuracy issues are fixable, which is why I'm not nearly as concerned about his misses as I typically am with college QBs who miss throws. Nico has "good bones", a solid foundation for development.

Made some full field reads. Decisively reads the progression, rarely are his eyes stuck too long on one route or nervously going back and forth between different WRs.

Elite scrambling threat. Very explosive forward burst. Good short area agility and instant burst to dodge sacks. Decisive with sound judgment when to tuck and run from a collapsing pocket. Maybe he doesn't always read the progression "correctly", but his scrambling is often better than the WR route in the progression, so the QB taking off running works out better in the end than if Nico had attempted a pass. When flushed from the pocket, he maintains his composure and makes good decisions about whether to run or pass, he doesn't get hurried, become hesitant or have blinders on. Able to squirt through narrow lanes at LOS with impressive short area burst before defenders can close the opening. Good creator off script, continues to be dangerous even if the designed play isn't working.

3rd down, his RB gets destroyed in pass protection by a DT, QB slithers past the DT, cuts back, weaves past defenders, lowers his helmet and pads and powers past the line to gain to change what should have been a sack and turn it into a 1st down conversion.

Excellent runner. Runs with forward lean behind his pads. Jukes defenders in the open field, wiggle in hips. Glides on the field, eating up yardage in a hurry. Body length to fall forward to finish runs. Good acceleration. Great body control and balance to weave past defenders at 2nd level. Great vision and instincts to plot optimal course to gain yardage. Very good balance, regularly will regain his balance and keep running when he's tripped up instead of falling down. No fear of contact, lowers his pads and takes hits to finish runs, especially if necessary to get to 1st down marker. Willing runner in short yardage and goalline between the tackles, not soft or scared. Very good 3rd down runner. Instead of having a designated 3rd down WR, Nico was essentially his own 3rd down target, so you have to factor in his rushing yardage and success when evaluating his mediocre passing stats. Very good lateral jumps like a downhill skier to change his track and evade tackles, more like a RB than a QB. Defenders go flying by and whiff against his dance moves in space.

His volleyball background isn't just trivia; I think his athleticism from being a multi-sport athlete translates to the football field, because he has uncommon coordination, balance and explosion for such a tall QB. Probably has value on trick plays using QB as receiver or jet sweep guy. Capable on QB sneaks, can fall forward or burrow behind block to gain necessary yardage. Versatile runner for any designed QB run in the playbook, regardless of down and distance.

Calming influence on the field. If his teammates make errors, he doesn't flip out. Keeps his cool, easy going and positive, almost detached from the stress of the game. Not tightly wound. Earns respect for playing through injury and for continuing to battle in games where UCLA was behind. The rep might have been that Nico bailed on UT and hung them out to dry, but he didn't quit on UCLA in 2025.

I don't think all of his missed throws are really misses. 35 yard deep fade misses too long for the WR but I thought the pass was perfectly fine, the WR just didn't win on his route, which prevented him from getting to the ball. Excellent deep ball on 3rd down, possible long TD, but WR drops the ball.

UCLA was 3-9 in 2025 and 126th out of 136 teams in the nation in scoring. Nico only had 175 passing yards per game. The leading WR only had 535 yards on the season. Nico was by far the leading rusher. Their RB by committee resulted in the top RB only gaining 364 yards. None of the WRs or TEs looked great. Didn't have speed or great route runners to target. Some plays, all the receivers were covered, no separation from the DBs. He wasn't on a very good team. Not all of UCLA's problems were his fault. If you took him off the roster, their offense would have been complete garbage. Almost all of it was on his shoulders to try to carry by himself. As terrible as they were anyway, one of the worst in the country, Nico did make them better.

As the season went on, UCLA changed their coaching staff and Nico got more experience in the system, he appeared to improve with how he read the defense, doing a better job finding targets lower in the progression. Some of his mental errors maybe are just reflections of changing schools and not being able to play in the same scheme with the same teammates, lack of continuity and experience.

While he played in a spread offense at UT and was in an RPO-based offense at UCLA, the Bruins did use some pro style concepts and formations in 2025. So, some of what he did does translate to pro ball.

There are many things that I love about Nico Iamaleava. There are also a bunch of flaws and negatives to cover. We'll get to those next.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 3: Weaknesses

Last season, Ty Simpson at Alabama was battered and bruised, frequently running for his life due to pass blocking woes. He was sacked 28 times in 15 games. Nico was sacked 27 times in only 11 games and missed portions of a couple games due to injury. So, if you just looked at the stats, you might assume that his pass blocking also was terrible. That's not the case. Yes, there were a few times the protection broke down and caused sacks. In general, however, his OL did a pretty good job pass blocking. Quite a few sacks and pressures were mostly Nico's own fault and not primarily caused by his teammates.

TE on angle route has perfect leverage vs LB and huge open grass to run for YAC. QB late getting to his 2nd read, too late to target TE, eats it for a sack instead of chunk play. Mistake by CB in coverage results in 2 deep routes being open, one near sideline and the other one over the middle. QB doesn't throw to either of the 2, holds the ball, doesn't climb pocket, giving DE time to get around LT to the outside and sack the QB.

A statue in the pocket. A good QB knows how to make subtle movements inside the pocket to find passing windows, help the OL or buy extra time to throw the ball. Nico has very poor pocket movement, typically he just stands glued to one spot. Not a pocket climber even if there is space for him to step up. Doesn't move laterally to find better angle to deliver passes or to avoid having them deflected by the DL. Sometimes when he throws the ball sidearm to get it around defenders, he didn't have to do that, all he had to do is slide to the side and he could have thrown the ball normally.

RB chops down LB blitz. DE trying to get around RT but RG about to give help. All QB needs to do is slide slightly to the left and throw. Nico's eyes drop and he looks directly at the LB on the ground. QB retreats and spins out of the back of the pocket, thinking the situation is more desperate than the actual reality. This kills all the routes by messing up the timing of the play. If he just gave it time, the post routes should have worked. As QB scrambles downfield, it looks to me like the LT is holding the DT, but no flag is thrown. The EDGE takes a poor angle, allowing QB to get to the corner. It worked out well, but I consider it a "bad" play.

Doesn't throw the ball with good touch, shrinking passing windows, resulting in passes missing just beyond the hands of his WRs or zipping over their heads. Air mails masses high and hot over the head of WRs, not shaping the throw properly around defenders, turning what should have been relatively easy completions into incompletions.

3rd down near opponent's end zone, blown coverage results in WR being by himself. All QB has to do is loft the ball to the back of the end zone for a TD. Instead, QB tries to throw it flat and hard, goes behind the WR for incompletion.

Had potential TD on wheel route, but poor touch, not enough air, misses too far. Poor fade pass to corner of end zone, wrong side of CB and too low.

Average accuracy at all 3 levels, especially since he doesn't have major flaws in his mechanics. Often "aims" passes, typically resulting in the ball being low or behind the target. Reminds me of a basketball player who is unguarded at the 3-point line pausing then missing the wide open trey. Poor ball placements, easy throws to flat often behind the target, forcing RBs and TEs to spin around to make the catch. Forced RB to come to complete stop on checkdown.

Had some very wild and bizarre misses, not even close to the target that are difficult to understand or explain. I have no idea, like he was throwing the ball away but he obviously wasn't.

Regularly misreads the defense, failing to target open receivers. Struggles to process information on the field and determine where and when to throw the ball.

Backed up deep in own territory. TE is the primary read, man coverage, TE wins on his route, QB appears to be looking directly at him. Instead of throwing it to set up a short 3rd down, QB tries a very low percentage deep fade to WR blanketed by CB, almost impossible to complete. All this does is create a long 3rd down near your own end zone.

Rub for arrow route works perfectly, QB late to recognize.

Short route open on levels concept, QB too greedy tries near impossible deep route instead.

3rd down. Against the coverage shown pre-snap, the ideal route would be the corner route. Pocket is super clean, plenty of time, but QB throws it underneath instead and fails to pick up the 1st down. If he just waited a split second longer, the corner route was going to pop wide open and would have been a huge gain.

4th down, there are 3 routes with great leverage on their DBs, easy options to convert. QB turns down all 3 of these routes and attempts pass to a tightly covered receiver instead, wasting outstanding pass blocking, resulting in PBU and turnover on downs.

4th down, pick play design where 2 WRs are going to cross to set up a short curl route. Works perfectly, the inside WR delays the inside CB, and the outside WR folds in behind him, getting open. QB turns it down, nearly gets sacked, scrambles out of danger, turns upfield, picks up the 1st down and gets tackled. Yes, it looks like a spectacular highlight video play, but guess where QB gets tackled? He's literally at the feet of the WR he should have thrown to, the end result would have been much easier and safer if QB had just executed the play the way it was designed. IMO, that's not a highlight, it is a "bad play" for NFL evaluation purposes. Carson Wentz did things like that too, even when he was in the NFL with the Eagles. If we repeated the same play 10 times, how many times would the QB be able to escape that sack out of those 10 reps? Let's say 5. How many times would he be able to complete that very short throw on 10 attempts? I'll say 9. So, which is the better approach? Which method is more likely to result in a QB injury or fumble?

Cover 3, the speed out WR is wide open, no defender is anywhere close to him. QB doesn't read it, nearly gets sacked, scrambles upfield, pump fakes at the WR he should have targeted, then takes heavy hit from a big DE as he gets shoved out of bounds. Nice job running but just throw the ball to the super wide open WR next time. Why make everything so dangerous and difficult?

TE coming across the formation and going to the flat has a stop on the LB. All the QB has to do is gently lob the ball over the head of the LB, plenty of open space for the TE to run for YAC. Instead, QB tucks the ball and tries to run, only able to get back to the LOS for no gain.

Long 3rd down on UCLA's 24 yard-line. Defense drops into soft zone to defend the 1st down line, no disguise to coverage. QB should know the downfield routes won't work, just dump it off to his shallow crosser or the RB outlet, get a few yards and punt. QB holds the ball, feels pressure, runs backwards, getting sacked at own 10 yard-line. Instead of the ball being on the 30, now we just lost 20 yards of field position and after the punt the opponent will be in good shape for a scoring drive.

Short 3rd down. RB wheel route vs flat footed LB is developing just as planned, a great route vs coverage call. QB turns it down and tries to jam it deep between 2 DBs, missing way too high.

Nice pick play for RB, WR makes effective rub to get RB open. QB should target this route, it is what the play is designed to set up but instead QB tries to scramble and gets stuffed at the LOS.

Blind to the open RB checkdown and never considers throwing it to him, even if wide open. RB open, QB takes off scrambling, gains 15 yards.

Sometimes 100% blind to lurking defenders who are reading his eyes and about to jump the passing window. Appeared to get lucky and get pass by them instead of having pass result in INTs. If he had seen LB movement on one such play, he should have targeted the inside slant and thrown the ball behind the LB but instead QB goes to the outside slant and nearly has it picked.

Not Josh Allen. Doesn't have bulk or run strength to power through tackles, has to try to dodge them.

Very poor ball security. Waves the ball around wildly both when running and inside the pocket. Sometimes only one hand on ball in pocket if moved off his spot. When running, his arm swings away from his body, a huge space between the ball and his torso. Doesn't cover up the ball, pretty easy to knock it out of his hand, even by accident. One of his fumbles appeared to be caused by a collision with a teammate. Had very soft fumble on scramble run.

Exposes himself to way too many unnecessary hits. Turns down easy completions to targets in short area of field, taking off running instead, then gets hit in legs and upper body on those runs. Multiple concussions in career.

Has a very thin build.

Shotgun, RPO offense at UCLA, was in spread offense at UT. Rarely under center.

Not a fan of his personality. Odd answers to interview questions. Said spring 2026 practices were "fun", not showing much leadership or awareness with setting the right tone for team or himself entering the upcoming season. He said he struggled at first with academics at UCLA when he transferred. Has room for growth in terms of maturity, leadership and football IQ. Different intangibles vs Ty Simpson and one of the likely reasons the Rams drafted Simpson. History at UT potential flag in terms of being team oriented and "we not me" guy vs being self-centered.

 

[Memento]

My main hang-up about Nico is always going to be about his helicopter parent of a father. I've been around enough sports to know that having a helicopter parent constantly criticizing the people on a kid's team is never going to succeed (Colby Rasmus of the St. Louis baseball Cardinals might admittedly be clouding my judgment, but he was dumped and dealt by multiple teams after his father interfered with Tony LaRussa to the extent where LaRussa didn't want to deal with him anymore). I can't recall a single player with a helicopter parent to Nico's father's extent that has ever made a positive impact on a professional team.

It's a fifty-fifty blame between Nico and his father from the breakup of Tennessee, and it was all about money, which concerns me a great deal; if he only cares about money, what'll happen when he gets paid?

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro Comp

3rd round grade, Josh Johnson (5th round 2008, Tampa Bay Bucs, San Diego)

Johnson was in the same draft class as Chris Long and Matt Ryan. Amazing, he's still on an NFL roster. He's played for so many teams (nearly half the league), he's the definition of a journeyman backup. In the middle of his pro career, he was out of the NFL, playing in the AAF and XFL.

Nico Iamaleava is still a little rough around the edges, but he has some rare physical and athletic tools that NFL teams will covet. Unless he gets red flagged for his concussions, my prediction is that he'll be drafted higher than the experts are predicting. I think that he's a better prospect than Colin Kaepernick (early 2nd round 2011, Niners) and Jalen Milroe (3rd round 2026, Seahawks).

If you draft a QB in the 3rd round, typically you are only expecting to acquire a developmental backup. The Rams drafted Sean Mannion in the 3rd round of the 2015 draft. This is a list I made of some of the notable QBs taken after slot 55 through about 5th round territory in the last decade: Dillon Gabriel, Shedeur Sanders, Spencer Rattler, Hendon Hooker, Stetson Bennett, Dorian Thomson-Robinson, Malik Willis, Desmond Ridder, Matt Corral, Sam Howell, Kyle Trask, Jarrett Stidham, Mason Rudolph, Josh Dobbs.

My grade for Nico is fluid and could substantially change by the time of next year's draft. If he plays very well in 2026, I might give him a 1st round grade. If he gets hurt or struggles, he could slide into the back of Day 3.

History has shown that NFL teams are willing to overlook a QB's flaws and gamble on their upside potential if they have rare physical tools. Anthony Richardson was the 4th overall pick in the draft. Will Levis was taken at the top of the 2nd round. I just have a sneaking suspicion that if we could peek at actual NFL preliminary 2027 draft boards, they have Iamaleava graded higher than most of the draft media experts.