Entering the 2026 college football season, it was anticipated that we might see a truly generational quarterback class on the field. That has not happened.
Instead, one breakout player has begun to truly run away from the rest of the competition for the race to become QB1 in the 2027 NFL Draft: Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker.
According to a poll of 25 NFL scouts and executives done by ESPN, 17 said that Mestemaker is the clear QB1 of the 2027 class. And because you might be wondering: None of them said Arch Manning.
2027 NFL Draft class thinning at quarterback faster by the day
While it's exciting that Drew Mestemaker is having a good enough season at Oklahoma State -- his first season with the Cowboys after transferring from North Texas -- to be considered the possible QB1 of the 2027 NFL Draft, it's also a stark reminder of just how disappointing this particular class of quarterbacks has been.
There were huge expectations for players like Arch Manning, LaNorris Sellers, Julian Sayin, Sam Leavitt, and plenty of others. They haven't lived up to the lofty expectations.
The only other quarterbacks to receive votes in this particular poll were Notre Dame's CJ Carr (4), Miami's Darian Mensah (3), and Oregon's Dante Moore (1).
And Moore's playing career is currently on pause due to a horrifying hit he took in Oregon's game against USC earlier this season.
When the same poll of 25 executives was conducted back in August, 14 of the 25 scouts and executives had Moore as the QB1 of the class. Arch Manning received 7 votes. Mestemaker wasn't even on the radar.
There's still plenty of football left to be played this season, so this list is once again subject to change. But as the season goes along, that picture only becomes clearer.
Where would Drew Mestemaker land if the 2027 NFL Draft was today?
Let's say the season was over and the 2027 NFL Draft was being held today, where would Drew Mestemaker land? The top three picks in the 2027 draft currently belong to the Chargers, Titans, and Dolphins, in that order.
It seems far-fetched to think that the Chargers would take Mestemaker and move on from Justin Herbert, so the conversation really begins with the Tennessee Titans and Miami Dolphins with the 2nd and 3rd picks, respectively.
The Titans just traded Jeffery Simmons to the Chicago Bears in a blockbuster deal, and giving up a franchise cornerstone like that has to, at least on some level, indicate where they are at with Cam Ward as a long-term franchise QB option.
The Titans might be souring on Ward.
The Dolphins seem like a no-brainer with Malik Willis currently holding things down as a bridge quarterback. And that's a role he could even continue next year as this team continues to build.
If the draft was today, it would have to be one of those two teams for Mestemaker, assuming he lands as the QB1 of the class.
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