Drew Mestemaker is a redshirt sophomore quarterback at Oklahoma State after transferring from North Texas. Mestemaker was a zero-star recruit coming out of Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas, where he was a backup quarterback. He went from high school backup in 2023 to college walk-on in 2024 to conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2025.
After walking on at North Texas and redshirting in 2024, he was named the starter in 2025. He threw for 4,379 yards and 34 touchdowns last year, then entered the transfer portal and became the quarterback for the Cowboys.
Mestemaker entered the 2026 season as a dark-horse prospect for the 2027 NFL Draft due to his production and physical profile. The team website lists him at 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, but many scouting services list him closer to 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds.
After a red-hot start to the season and questions surrounding the rest of the quarterback class, the question surrounding Mestemaker is now whether or not he is QB1 in 2027, as opposed to a candidate for the 2028 draft.
Drew Mestemaker NFL Draft Profile
- Position: Quarterback
- School: Oklahoma State
- Height: 6-foot-3
- Weight: 215LBS
- Class: Redshirt Sophomore
- Hometown: Austin, Texas
Drew Mestemaker's Career Stats
- Games Played: 25*
- Passing yards: 6,781*
- Completion percentage: 68.1%*
- Passing touchdowns: 52*
- Interceptions: 17*
- Rushing yards: 92
- Rushing touchdowns: 8
*statistics through six games of the 2026 college football season
What are Drew Mestemaker's biggest strengths?
- Mestemaker has a good athletic profile with an ideal frame and height, along with decent mobility. He can move in and out of the pocket and take advantage of open space as a runner.
- He has a good arm and can make throws to all parts of the field from different platforms and with varying amounts of space in the pocket.
- He has no problems throwing over the middle of the field. He makes good layered throws to find open windows in the defense and, at times, can anticipate those windows opening, usually on the first read.
- He's willing to stand in the pocket and go through his progressions. He'll evade pressure as needed, but won't escape unnecessarily.
- Deep-ball accuracy might be his superpower; he routinely puts the ball in good spots downfield for his receivers to make plays on it.
Where can Drew Mestemaker improve?
- Mestemaker has the ability to drive the ball with velocity, but it's not his go-to approach. He usually throws with a lot of air under the ball, especially on deep shots.
- He tends to lock onto his first target for a longer period of time than he does on his second and third reads. He's also a little slow to go through his progressions.
- He's willing to take chances on tight-window throws, but between his timing and velocity concerns, he puts a lot of balls at risk of being intercepted. Linebackers and safeties can anticipate his throws and jump routes or otherwise impact the play.
- His accuracy comes and goes throughout games.
NFL Draft Projection
There's still a chance that Mestemaker returns to school for another college season. The second half of the college football season will likely determine that.
But if he chooses to declare for the 2027 NFL Draft, he's locked himself into being a first-round pick. With the quarterback class still so up in the air, it's not impossible for Mestemaker to be the first quarterback taken and a potential No. 1 or No. 2 overall pick, but it's not the most likely outcome.
Ultimately, if Mestemaker declares for the 2027 NFL Draft, I expect him to be a top-10 pick, though probably not the first quarterback taken.
NFL Pro comparison
As I watch Mestemaker attack the middle of the field and throw with deep-ball accuracy at will this season, all I can think of is how Dak Prescott and Geno Smith have played over the last couple of years.
Prescott and Smith have routinely stood in the pocket to take deep shots down the seams or let plays develop over the middle, and neither is afraid to throw into tight windows. That's why both have had their fair share of interception-heavy seasons, and I see a similar arc for Mestemaker as well.
None of these three players had truly alarming interception numbers in college that suggested they struggled to read defenses. But they had just enough picks to show they were willing to take chances.
The only other comp that came to my mind was Joe Burrow. Burrow is known for making explosive plays downfield without having the biggest arm, which reminds me a bit of how Mestemaker makes big plays with the amount of air he puts under the ball. The ball doesn't always jump off his hand with velocity, but it's a mix of mechanics, timing and arm strength that gets it there.
Ultimately, Mestemaker probably has a better arm than Burrow but isn't at the same level as a processor or anticipator that Burrow is now, or was in college. But maybe that's why Mestemaker could stand to stay in college for another year.
Final evaluation
Overall Grade: 87/100
Draft Projection: Top 10
This might be my biggest discrepancy between my grade and projection. I don't have a first-round grade on Mestemaker right now, but I'm convinced he'd be a top-10 pick if he entered the draft.
I like a lot of what Mestemaker brings. His ability and willingness to attack all parts of the field, plus his size and mobility, give him a lot of great tools. But some of the ways he plays quarterback, in terms of his velocity vs. touch on throws, willingness to put balls into tight windows and lack of speed going through progressions, make me concerned about how his game would translate to the pros.
With an 87 grade and his profile, I'd want him in a situation where he wouldn't be counted on to start for the majority of his rookie season. If someone from the future came and told me he'd be drafted early but sit most of his rookie year, that would be fine because I don't think he's ready to start, especially for a bad team.
If Mestemaker goes back to school and works on his processing speed and learns to use different levels of velocity with his throws, I think he can be a more complete and NFL-ready prospect.
But the traits and level of production he's shown so far have been enough to make him a potential high pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
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