Drew Mestemaker’s meteoric rise from walk-on to starting quarterback to potential No.1 overall pick in the 2027 NFL Draft is a fascinating one.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback has all the physical tools and traits NFL scouts look for. After getting his chance to start for North Texas in the 2025 First Responder Bowl, his first start since his freshman year of high school, he hasn’t looked back.
Mestemaker, now in his first season at Oklahoma State, is emerging as the favorite to be the first quarterback selected in the 2027 NFL Draft. On ESPN’s “College Gameday” Saturday morning, Pete Thamel shared the results of a survey of 25 NFL scouts and executives asking which quarterback would be selected first. Mestemaker received 17 votes, the most of any prospect.
Now, he’s gone back to the same group for an updated look at where things stand 👀⤵️
In the same survey conducted in August, Mestemaker did not receive a single vote, illustrating just how quickly his stock has risen.
Drew Mestemaker’s College Career
Mestemaker played for North Texas during the 2025 season, starting 14 games for the Mean Green. He threw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns while completing 68.9% of his passes. He then followed head coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State, where he has starred for the Cowboys this season.
Through the first seven games, Mestemaker has thrown for 2,326 yards and 20 touchdowns while completing 65.7% of his passes, leading No.24 Oklahoma State to a 5-2 record.
After a disappointing season-opening loss to Tulsa, Mestemaker and the Cowboys bounced back the following week, upsetting then-No.6 Oregon as nearly three-touchdown underdogs. Mestemaker outduelled Oregon quarterback Dante Moore, throwing for 317 yards and two touchdowns while adding 109 yards rushing, including a 75-yard touchdown run.
That performance seemingly put Mestemaker on NFL scouts’ radar.
The Other Possible Quarterbacks of the 2027 NFL Draft
Since then, several of the other top quarterback prospects have struggled. Coming into the season, the leading candidates included Texas’ Arch Manning, Oregon’s Dante Moore, LSU’s Sam Leavitt and South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers. All four received votes in the August survey as potential candidates to be the first quarterback selected in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Moore and Manning were the two leading vote-getters in that survey. Moore is now out of the season after sustaining a concussion against USC, while Arch Manning’s struggles have been well documented throughout the Texas’ tumultuous season.
The Drew Mestemaker Scouting Report
The primary concerns surrounding Mestemaker are his limited experience and relatively light schedule at both Oklahoma State and North Texas. If the Cowboys play 14 games this season, Mestemaker will finish with 29 career college starts, more than half of which came at North Texas.
This season, Oklahoma State’s toughest tests have come against Oregon, which has not quite lived up to its preseason expectations, and No.20 Houston, which defeated the Cowboys 35-32 on Oct.27.
The toughest game remaining on the schedule is a Nov.14 matchup against No.13 Texas Tech. In a crowded Big 12 race, the Cowboys are 3-1 in conference play, tied for second with BYU, Arizona and Texas Tech.
Oklahoma State does not face first-place Utah, Arizona or BYU during the regular season, potentially opening the door for the Cowboys to reach the Big 12 championship game if they win out.
Mestemaker has gone from an overlooked walk-on to the potential first quarterback taken in the 2027 NFL Draft in a matter of months. While questions about his experience and competition level remain, he has firmly established himself as a top prospect. With a strong finish to the season, Mestemaker has a chance to remove any doubt about whether he deserves to be atop the 2027 quarterback class.
Drew Mestemaker Continues to Climb Up Draft Boards