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Drew Mestemaker Early Scouting Report

Drew Mestemaker was a walk-on at North Texas. Fast forward to 2026, and he’s followed his coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State for a reported $7,000,000 NIL deal over two years. How does he project as an NFL Draft prospect?

Measureables

Height: 6’3”

Weight: 215 lbs

Statistics

2025: 319 completions from 463 attempts, 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns, and nine interceptions.

2024: 30 completions from 46 attempts, 462 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions.

The Tape

Games Watched: at Western Michigan, at Tulane (conference championship), and San Diego State (bowl game).

Strengths

Mestemaker operates a spread system, allowing him to get into a nice rhythm. He will make his read, often on what one defender does, and get the ball out on time. When called for, he takes something off his passes and throws a catchable ball.

There are other elements to the offense, which will appeal to the NFL. Mestemaker shows the ability to get through progressions, resetting his feet as he does.

He will throw with timing and anticipation, most often on out-breaking routes, where he throws before or as the receiver is making his break. His ball placement is good.

Mestemaker’s arm is big enough to make all the throws, including when he’s on the run. His deep ball doesn’t have too much air, not allowing defensive backs that extra second to recover.

When plays break down, Mestemaker is able to extend plays while keeping his eyes down the field. He does this a lot, rolling to his right. Doing this, he uses his legs to buy time to pass, rather than scrambling as his first option. You also see his ability to manipulate the pocket, with a subtle move to sidestep pressure.

On either scrambles or designed runs, Mestemaker shows he’s a good enough athlete to pick up yardage. He builds up speed, and when up to full speed, he eats up the yards, but he’s not an instant accelerator.

Areas to Improve

2025 was Mestemaker’s first year as a starting quarterback, and that inexperience does show. He needs to speed up his processing when his first read isn’t there. This will come as he sees more snaps and situations. The same can be said of his overall decision-making.

His pre and post-snap reads also need to improve. This was evident more against Tulane and San Diego State. He needs to identify blitzes or who is dropping into a passing lane more efficiently. These two areas to improve manifest in him taking too many sacks as he’s holding the ball too long. Again, this will come with time.

Right now, Mestemaker tends to climb the pocket and then turn into a scrambler. You don’t see him climb the pocket and drive the ball. While his arm is good, you don’t see him really drive the ball. This should improve as he becomes more confident in his reading and decision-making. Right now, there’s a little uncertainty, and once he processes quickly and commits, this type of pass should become part of his game. He has the raw traits to do this.

Mestemaker does show touch, but he is still developing as a deep touch passer, including layering throws over defenders. He also gets too many passes batted at the line, partly a product of his giving away his target with his eyes. His release point is also inconsistent and should be a focus this off-season.

Mestemaker would also benefit from adding a little weight. He looks a little thin, and adding bulk will help him hold up physically.

Drew Mestemaker Key Tests in 2026

A week two out-of-conference matchup, hosting Oregon, is a fantastic early litmus test for Mestemaker.

Reigning conference champions, Texas Tech, are the other obvious big test on the schedule. They host the Red Raiders in week 11.

Other tests include at West Virginia (week four), UCF (week six), at Kansas State (week 10), and at Arizona State (week 12).

The full schedule can be found here.

Drew Mestemaker Summary

Elements of Mestemaker’s game jump off the tape. He clearly has the raw traits to be a first-round pick. He’s in a similar bucket to Arch Manning in that they are both not finished products as of today.

Entering his redshirt sophomore season, he needs to improve his decision-making and processing. If he does so in 2026, expect to hear a great deal about this former walk-on.

Main Image: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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