Through 8 weeks of the college football season, there are two quarterbacks who stand tall among their draft eligible peers in the FCS. They boast the two highest completion percentages, passing touchdown totals, and NFL passer ratings in all of the subdivision. Taron Dickens (Western Carolina) and Derek Roberston (Monmouth) are currently, without debate, the two most appealing FCS quarterbacks in the class. Let’s get into the numbers to decide a mid-season King of the Hill for signal callers at this level.
Taron Tyger Dickens, RS Sophomore, Western Carolina University
After serving a three-game suspension for an apparent academic violation, the Catamounts clear pre-season QB1 reassumed starting duties. His debut as a redshirt freshman in 2024 concluded with a 173/1,421/12 line adding 165 yards and 2 touchdowns rushing to cap it off. Nothing earth shattering in that profile for a young buck, but his 72.8% completions hinted to a sign of maturity that is essential for continuation at the Division-1 level.
Production & Efficiency
Thus far, through five games with the team in 2025, Dickens has amassed 1,987 yards and 22 touchdowns, and has forked up just 1 interception. Incredible efficiency made possible by a seemingly unlikely step forward in the completion percentage category. His 79% completions at this point in the season lead all 2026 draft-eligible QBs regardless of competition level.
His 22 touchdowns are second in all of college football, and he ranks 8th currently in passing yards (2nd in FCS). His lone interception solidifies the rarity of his air as one of just 11 quarterbacks in the country to throw one or less INTs (minimum 190 dropbacks) to this point in 2025.
There’s a hell of a lot of good up there, but let’s tap into the bad and the ugly for the sake of today’s comparison.
Areas for Improvement
At first glance, sacks taken by a quarterback are typically attributed to a failure on behalf of the offensive line. However, in the case of Dickens’ 13 takedowns this year, there are some unfortunate notes that place more blame on his behalf. His average time to throw is 2.62 seconds, which falls into a pretty comfortable zone regardless of scheme. He’s host to a 20% pressure-to-sack ratio, making him essentially the 40th most sackable QB among the 96 who clear the aforementioned minimum of 190 dropbacks this season. While this metric actually lands him at the bottom of the top-third of sack avoidance in FCS competition, he’d presumably land much further down the line against the faster and stronger pass rush of the FBS level.
At just 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, the apparent lack of slipperiness in his profile is cause for concern. It’s clear that when presented with a clean pocket, his accuracy is elite — particularly for such a young athlete — and that plays well for projecting him out. Should he stay back for a RS Junior season, Dickens will be an incredibly interesting prospect to keep an eye on in regard to development.
Final Thoughts on Dickens
The closing note on Tyger’s case for King of the FCS will be an electrifying statistic he posted in week 6. He obliterated an NCAA record for consecutive completions against Wofford, when he started the game going 46/46. The previous record was 29 consecutive completions.
Derek Robertson, Grad Student, Monmouth University
Playing as a graduate student, Derek Robertson has all of the experience that his counterpart in this article lacks. He arrived at Monmouth after a tenure at the University of Maine, and his transfer decision has paid dividends. At 6-foot-2 and around 200 pounds, he offers prototypical size and has shown an impressive blend of arm-talent, accuracy and production throughout his career.
Production & Efficiency
In the 2024 season Robertson rewrote the Monmouth record books: he threw for 3,937 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 65.2% of his passes and giving up only 6 interceptions. He led the FCS in total passing yards and averaged 328.1 yards per game last year.
In 2025, through his first six games he’s kept up the pace: his 72.6% completions are third in all of CFB, trailing Dickens and Indiana standout Fernando Mendoza (72.7%); 2,290 passing yards rank first in the FCS and second in all of college football behind only Sawyer Robertson of Baylor; and 24 passing touchdowns thus far lead the nation across levels.
He’s thrown for 350+ yards in five games this season, and he set another Monmouth record in week two against Fordham when he tallied 7 scores (6 passing and 1 rushing).
Areas for Improvement
Robertson has a healthier pressure to sack ratio (16.7%) than Dickens, and if that still feels a little high for your comfort, it can be defended by an average time to throw of 2.11 seconds, a full half second less than Tyger. While for the sake of comparison, that is an advantage to Robertson, there is certainly room to grow for him in terms of pocket mobility and escapability overall.
His size helps him stand tougher in the pocket, but he’s not exactly lauded for elite athleticism. Something to consider when weighing out the projection from the FCS to the highest level. One knock on Robertson for this exercise is that he’s thrown 5 picks this year to Dickens’ 1. Four of these came in the season opener, where he threw for 506 yards and 4 touchdowns to help lead Monmouth to a win.
Final thoughts on Robertson
With prototypical size and three fully successful seasons of work — plus a redshirt freshman season where he took the job and started 7 games — Derek Robertson brings a level of poise and experience to the gridiron that is desirable for all front offices at the next level. He’s also notably prone for the big play, having thrown two touchdown passes that totaled 75 yards or more.
Outlook & Comparison
When viewing Robertson versus Dickens, the case for Robertson is compelling:
- His size gives him a physical profile more immediately translatable to higher levels of competition
- His strong track record, including high-volume production and repeatedly elite efficiency, anchors his value
- His ability to create big plays and lead his team suggests a higher ceiling in our eyes
On the flip side, Dickens’ ultra-high completion rate, ultra-low interception total, and unique consecutive completions record (46/46 in a game) speak to elite precision. Robertson may be a more “complete package” at this moment given size and volume, whereas Dickens may possess a higher floor in terms of efficiency but possibly more risk as he moves to face tougher competition as an undersized passer.
Verdict (mid-season king vs. challenger)
If we were to pick a “King of the Hill” at this point among FCS draft-eligible quarterbacks, Robertson arguably holds the edge — thanks to the blend of size, production, efficiency and big-play ability. Dickens is not far behind and may indeed surpass him as the season continues, especially if he maintains his interception-averse profile and improves his sack/pressure numbers.
Visit our memberships page for more detailed draft content throughout the year!
Leave a Reply