NFL Draft: Scouts Tab Drew Mestemaker as First QB Drafted per ESPN Poll

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Drew Mestemaker may not be long for college football or Stillwater if you believe those in NFL circles.

ESPN conducted a midseason poll of 25 NFL scouts and executives, and 17 of them picked the Big 12’s leading passer as the first QB to hear his name called on draft night. That’s the most any quarterback has received in the three years that Pete Thamel has been conducting this poll.

Coming into this year, the 2027 draft class was touted to be full of Day 1 arm talent, but injuries and disappointing results have seen several of those top-tier QBs come down to earth over the first half of the season.

Meanwhile, Mestemaker has surged to the top of draft boards with his big numbers and big plays. He’s captained the Cowboys to a 5-2 start and tied for second place in the Big 12 at 3-1.

One scout summed up his vote this way: “Mestemaker seems like the only real choice at this point.” [ESPN]

This is a big shift from Thamel’s previous poll which had Oregon’s Dante Moore as the top vote getter with 14, followed by Texas’ Arch Manning with seven. Mestemaker didn’t receive a vote in that poll.

Here’s a look at the midseason voting for QB1 on draft night versus the initial poll.

Midseason Poll

Drew Mestemaker (Oklahoma State): 17
CJ Carr (Notre Dame): 4
Darian Mensah (Miami): 3
Dante Moore (Oregon): 1

Initial Poll

Dante Moore (Oregon): 14
Arch Manning (Texas): 7
LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina): 2
Sam Leavitt (LSU): 1
CJ Carr (Notre Dame): 1

Of course, what matters most is how things play out on the field. Mestemaker started to turn the tide in Week 2, when he led the Cowboys to a momentous upset of No. 6 Oregon, completely outplaying then projected top QB pick, Dante Moore on the same day the first poll dropped.

Moore has since been injured while his Ducks sit at just 4-3. Manning has looked much more pedestrian than the SEC hype machine had churned out. The Longhorns are just 2-2 in conference play.

Other early favorites have also looked more human than expected all while Mestemaker has only continued to build his case.

He’s second in the FBS in passing yards, averaging 332.3 per game and has the Cowboys eying a trip to Arlington if they can navigate the back half of their schedule.

Here’s our @CollegeGameDay report on who’ll be QB1 in the upcoming NFL Draft. We polled 25 NFL scouts/executives. https://t.co/xwehIEEMDf

— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 31, 2026

Mestemaker and the Cowboys kickoff against Iowa State at 6 p.m. Saturday in Ames. The game will be televised on FOX.