Drew Mestemaker QB Oklahoma State |
NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
| Jersey: #17 PLAY STYLE: Pocket Passer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Updated: 08/03/2026 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Draft Year: 2027 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FORTY time: 4.75 seconds (67%*) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Jersey: #17 | |
| PLAY STYLE: Pocket Passer | |
| Last Updated: 08/03/2026 | |
| Draft Year: 2027 | |
| Forty time: 4.75 seconds (67%*) | |
| Overall Rating: |
88.1 / 100
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|---|---|---|
| Average rating of opposition Defense player has faced | ||
| Defense Rating: |
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83% |
| Click the links below to view how player ranks vs other prospects. | ||
| Release Speed: |
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91% |
| Short Passing: |
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80% |
| Medium Passing: |
|
90% |
| Long Passing: |
|
90% |
| Rush/Scramble: |
|
68% |
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DRAFT PROJECTION:
1st - Mid
Overall Rank:
#11
Position rank:
#4 (QB)
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| College Games: 18 College Snaps: 1067 | ||
247 RATING: 98/100
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| Player Comparison* (Similarity level) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bo Nix - Oregon |
|
89% |
| Mac Jones - Alabama |
|
82% |
| Ty Simpson - Alabama |
|
77% |
Draft Profile: Bio
Drew Mestemaker never started a varsity game in high school. At Vandegrift High in Austin, Texas, he played behind a Power Five quarterback recruit and spent his senior year on special teams and defense, earning honorable mention as a punter and safety. No recruiting stars, no scholarship offers.He walked on at North Texas under head coach Eric Morris and redshirted in 2024, appearing in five games with one start, in the First Responder Bowl against Texas State, where he accounted for 448 yards of total offense including a 70-yard rushing touchdown - the most total offense by any player in the 2024-25 bowl cycle.
Starting all 14 games as a redshirt freshman in 2025, Mestemaker led the FBS with 4,379 passing yards and threw 34 touchdowns against nine interceptions, setting single-season records at UNT for passing yards, touchdowns, completion percentage (68.4), and passer efficiency (168.69). He won the Burlsworth Trophy as the nation's best former walk-on, was named American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-AAC selection, and was a semifinalist for the Davey O'Brien and Walter Camp awards. He followed Morris to Oklahoma State ahead of the 2026 season, where he is expected to run the same Air Raid-based system.
Honors & awards
- 2025 Burlsworth Trophy
Scouting Report: Strengths
- Fast internal clock and a quick release keep him out of sacks and on schedule
- Pushes the ball downfield with accuracy, his intermediate and deep work the strength
- Set North Texas records with 4,381 yards and 34 scores as a redshirt freshman
- Torched Rice for 469 yards and three touchdowns without a turnover
- Hung a school-record 608 yards and four scores on Charlotte
- Trusts his reads and works through progressions with patience in the Air Raid
- Throws with anticipation into tight intermediate windows over the middle
- Walk-on background and a Player of the Year season point to a fast, hungry learner
Scouting Report: Weaknesses
- Release starts low near the hip, sailing boundary throws when the follow-through skips
- Took his two worst games against the only ranked defenses on the schedule
- Thin at 211 pounds on a 6-4 frame and must add functional weight
Scouting Report: Summary
Mestemaker is one of the more unusual evaluations in the class, a zero-star walk-on who never started a varsity game in high school, redshirted in 2024, then rewrote the North Texas record book in 2025 with 4,381 yards and 34 touchdowns, taking American Conference Offensive Player of the Year and the Burlsworth Trophy as the nation's top former walk-on. The arm talent and the production are clearly there; his release is fast, the deep and intermediate accuracy is a real strength, and he plays with the timing and patience the Air Raid demands.The signature games show the ceiling. He shredded Rice for 469 yards and three scores without a turnover and dropped a school-record 608 on Charlotte. He can fit throws into windows most college quarterbacks would not attempt, and he gets the ball out quickly enough to keep himself clean. He transferred to Oklahoma State to reunite with head coach Eric Morris and several former teammates, which should ease the jump to Power Four football.
The questions sit alongside the production. His release starts low, almost from the hip, and when he does not finish the follow-through the ball sails, which showed up on outside throws and drove several of his interceptions; for a 6-4 quarterback he also had too many passes tipped at the line. His two worst outings came against the only ranked defenses he faced, and that is not something to wave away even for a redshirt freshman. He is thin and needs functional weight. Overall, the release, the arm and the competitive wiring give a staff a real foundation, and the 2026 Big 12 tape against better competition is the most important film in his evaluation, with the mechanics the priority.
How other scouting services rate Drew Mestemaker (Overall Rank)
All Scouts AverageOverall Rank
16.3
All Scouts AveragePosition Rank
3.0
*Percentile Ranking in Player's Position Group (NFL Combine Historical Data): This percentile reflects how a player's specific statistics rank
in comparison to historical performances at the NFL Combine, specifically within their position group. A higher percentile indicates a better performance.
For instance, being in the 90th percentile for a particular stat means the player outperformed 90% of their peers in that category.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.
*Similarity Percentage: This percentage is calculated based on a comprehensive analysis of various factors, including height, weight, 40-yard dash times, on-field performance statistics, and overall player rating. The analysis is conducted against our database of draft prospects from 2021 to 2023. This similarity score helps in evaluating how closely a current prospect aligns with past prospects. It is important to note, however, that this score reflects similarities based on college production and attributes, and does not account for eventual success or performance in the NFL.