Overview
- An ESPN midseason poll of 25 NFL scouts and executives gave Oklahoma State transfer Drew Mestemaker 17 votes as the quarterback most likely to be taken first in the 2027 draft, a larger single-quarterback total than in the poll’s three-year history.
- Mestemaker rose from relative obscurity after transferring with coach Eric Morris and delivering standout games, including a 317-yard performance in Oklahoma State’s upset of Oregon and season totals of about 2,326 passing yards and 20 touchdowns through seven games.
- Scouts praised Mestemaker’s size, arm strength and accuracy but warned that much of his production comes inside Morris’s offense, so teams will test whether his reads, timing and decision-making translate outside that system.
- Former frontrunner Arch Manning has seen his stock fall because of accuracy problems, turnovers and ball-security issues, with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian warning of a possible change at quarterback and some NFL evaluators questioning whether Manning will enter the draft.
- The class has been reshaped by injuries and inconsistency—Oregon’s Dante Moore is out for the season with a concussion—so teams say they will lean on updated game tape, medical reports and pre-draft workouts before finalizing draft boards.