NFL Draft Noise Follows Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker into Houston Game

Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker said on Saturday he isn’t paying attention to the NFL noise.

Well, the NFL noise is certainly paying attention to him

This has been another good week for the redshirt sophomore on the mock draft circuit. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. ranked Mestemaker as his No. 2 overall prospect, behind only Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith. Former ESPN analyst Todd McShay, who now has a podcast with The Ringer called The McShay Show, broke down Mestemaker’s work so far this season.

While McShay said that Mestemaker could use another year in college, he also said that “he’s exceptionally capable of placing the ball at every level” during his evaluation after Mestemaker’s first five games at Oklahoma State.

The former ESPN co-workers all pointed to Mestemaker’s ability to make every throw, his toughness in the pocket and his underrated mobility.

Can Drew Mestemaker Further Boost His Stock This Weekend?

The game against the Houston Cougars is another chance for Mestemaker to burnish his credentials with NFL scouts. The Cougars (5-1, 2-1 in Big 12) may have the best secondary he’s faced this season. The unit returns three starters from a year ago, along with two high-quality transfers. Combined they have five interceptions and more than a dozen passes defended.

Plus, Houston runs a similar 4-2-5 scheme and can put pressure on him from the edge and the interior. The Cougars will be without defensive lineman De’Marion Thomas, one of their best interior defenders, as he’s listed as out on the player availability report.

Mestemaker led the country in passing yards last season with North Texas as he threw for 4,379 yards and 32 touchdowns. Among Big 12 quarterbacks he leads the league with 315 passing yards per game, with 1,575 yards, 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. Arizona’s Noah Fifita has more passing yards (1,756) in six games but averages 292.7 yards per game. He’s thrown for 16 touchdowns and four interceptions.

Fifita is just one of a great group of quarterbacks that Mestemaker will have to compete with in the NFL Draft in April — should he decide to leave college early. On Kiper’s Top 25 list were quarterbacks like Miami’s Darian Mensah, Ole Miss’s Trinidad Chambliss, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr, Missouri’s Austin Simmons, Texas’s Arch Manning and Oregon’s Dante Moore.

That’s seven quarterbacks with first-round potential. That could make this draft one of the most quarterback heavy drafts in recent NFL history.

There is plenty of season left. But, for now Mestemaker is leading the pack, especially if he has two of the most credible analysts in the business extolling his virtues going into the Cowboys’ Top 25 showdown with Houston.