NFL scouts favor Oklahoma State's Mestemaker as QB1 in '27 draft — SkimNews
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- Drew Mestemaker received 17 of 25 votes in ESPN's midseason poll of scouts and executives—the most for a quarterback in the poll's three-year history—after receiving zero votes in August; CJ Carr had four, Darian Mensah three and Dante Moore one.
- Dante Moore fell from 14 votes in August to one in the midseason poll and will miss the rest of 2026 after sustaining a concussion on an illegal hit at USC on Sept. 26.
- Drew Mestemaker threw for 317 yards and two touchdowns in Oklahoma State's 39-31 win over Oregon on Sept. 12, including a 75-yard rushing score; the win came as a nearly three-touchdown underdog and became the class's pivot point.
- Darian Mensah stands at an 81.4% completion percentage, four points above Bo Nix's 77.4% at Oregon in 2023, and is on pace to smash the FBS completion percentage record.
- Arch Manning remains a first-round possibility according to multiple scouts, who cited his tools, pedigree and potential despite accuracy and turnover struggles this season.
- Brendan Sorsby admitted making thousands of sports bets, including college football, and is working with Rich Scangarello on Kyle Shanahan's offense; a veteran scout said he must excel at an All-Star game and answer questions to settle his first-round standing.
- ESPN found a consensus among scouts that the 2027 class is no longer what it was billed to be: before the season, one compared it with 1983's five first-round quarterbacks; by comparison, six went in 2024 and two each in 2025 and 2026.
Why it matters: With 17 of 25 poll respondents choosing Mestemaker, NFL teams have a clear No. 1 option, but the rest of the board remains unsettled: Dante Moore is out for the season, and Brendan Sorsby faces an All-Star test plus extensive vetting over admitted sports betting before his first-round standing is settled.
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