Drew Mestemaker: From North Texas Walk-On to Top 2027 NFL Draft Prospect

The college football and NFL Draft communities alike are enamored with a former walk-on quarterback from Austin, Texas. No, this is not a repackaged story on Baker Mayfield, but rather Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker.

CBS Sports' Shehan Jeyarajah wrote an excellent story detailing the Texas native's journey from earning district recognition as both a safety and punter, but never taking a varsity snap at quarterback to now being one of the hottest names at the quarterback position ahead of the 2027 NFL Draft.

Mestemaker's Cowboys have had an unorthodox start to the season; first falling to in-state Tulsa and then knocking off No. 6 Oregon. Each game provided evidence of both the player's strengths and weaknesses. What does the scouting report say about his draft prospects? I solicited the opinion of retired old man soccer star and CBS Sports NFL Draft analyst Ryan Wilson for his thoughts on the quarterback captivating audiences.

"Coming into the season, I was just working from the assumption that Drew Mestemaker would return to school for the 2027 season. Now … maybe not?

"That was my point of reference when I watched him over the summer; he was coming off a huge 2025 season at North Texas, but he had only 13 career starts, hadn't faced a Power 4 opponent and still looked like a quarterback who would probably benefit from another year of development.  I had him as my QB9 back in August  and while there was plenty to like -- he could work through reads from a clean pocket and consistently showed good touch on intermediate throws -- I also had questions about the arm strength, not always playing on time and occasionally locking onto his first read and forcing the issue.

"Over the summer, I came up with the  First-Round Readiness Score (let's call it FRED)  to measure a quarterback's current development against the traits and production of past first-rounders. Let's just say the  model was considerably more bullish on Mestemaker than my notes . His combination of production, efficiency and early career development gave him one of the strongest scores in the class, behind only Julian Sayin and Jayden Maiava -- and well ahead of Oregon's Dante Moore and Texas' Arch Manning.

"FRED was essentially telling me that I might be underselling how far along he already was," Wilson said.

Speaking to my personal summer process, Mestemaker was a top 50 overall prospect, but clustered in Tier 2 behind Arch Manning, Moore and South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers.

First and foremost, the NFL game is changing. There is less of an emphasis on a quarterback's ability to run the football and more of an emphasis on operating on time and making quick, accurate decisions as a passer from the pocket. Mestemaker has the foot speed to get chunk yardage on the ground, as was seen against Oregon, but is more of a straight-line sprinter than a sudden athlete who will put defenders in compromised positions in space.

His pocket presence was a bit up and down last season but he stood tall in the face of pressure. Mestemaker makes quick decisions and throws with touch, anticipation to allow pass catchers the opportunity to make plays post-catch.

One of the biggest question marks had been how he would handle the transition to Power 4 competition. In two years with the Mean Green, his only exposure to that level of competition had been three pass attempts against Texas Tech in a 66-21 loss.

Fast forward to September when he made his first two starts at Oklahoma State alongside 53 other incoming transfers, including 15 former teammates from North Texas.

"Mestemaker's Oklahoma State debut against Tulsa didn't do much to change my mind. He had some rough moments, struggled to push the ball downfield and looked like a quarterback still adjusting to a new offense. No real surprise and also no reason to panic.

Then Oregon happened," Wilson continued.

"In his first start against a Power 4 team, Mestemaker finished with 426 total yards and outplayed Moore by a wide margin. And some of the things I wanted to see from him showed up in that game. His arm looked stronger than it did last season. He ripped intermediate field-size throws on time, showed great touch and timing on deep balls in the face of pressure and looked a lot like Josh Allen, his favorite player growing up, when he decided to run.

"His footwork from a clean pocket was especially encouraging. He also showed he could play on the move, throwing with pace and accuracy, and Oklahoma State trusted him with the ball on a third-down QB keeper to seal the win.

"There are still reasons to exercise patience. Oregon's defense was, to put it politely, awful. Mestemaker can panic when the first read disappears, and he'll still miss easy throws when his feet aren't set or stare down a target long enough to bring underneath defenders into the play.

So this isn't suddenly a QB1 conversation . But the question has changed, for sure. Before the season, I was wondering whether Mestemaker, who is just 20 years old, would show enough to make himself a legitimate 2028 prospect. Two games in, it's fair to wonder if he might force his way into the 2027 QB conversation."

Through two games, Mestemaker has been pressured on 32.3% of dropbacks, according to TruMedia. On average, he is being pressured once for every three drop backs. There was a discomfort evident against Tulsa. He consistently had pressure in his armpit and was unnecessarily fading away from throws. There were a number of errant throws that were a byproduct of poor footwork and not opening his hips to the throw.

Against Oregon, he displayed better pocket presence as well as the arm strength and decisiveness to rip the ball over the middle of the field. When forced out of the pocket, he struggles to reset his feet.

CBS Sports' Mike Renner has him as the No. 9 overall prospect . Although I am not yet personally as high on the player, there is cautious optimism that he will factor into first-round conversations if he continues on this trajectory.

The Ducks represented arguably the stiffest competition on Oklahoma State's schedule. They have just one more ranked meeting at No. 22 Houston before traveling to Lubbock to play No. 13 Texas Tech Nov. 14.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/draft/news/walk-on-nfl-draft-prospect-qb-drew-mestemaker-oklahoma-state/)._