# Rob Rang: Rang says Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker, after upsetting Oregon and winning at West Virginia, has vaulted into legitimate early-round consideration for the 2027 NFL Draft.

**Claimed:** Oct 2, 2026
**Pundit:** Rob Rang — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/rob-rang
**Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports
**How it reached us:** published in writing
**Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/10-biggest-risers-fallers-2027-nfl-draft-qb-drew-mestemaker-first-rounder

One checkable claim, graded on its own against what actually happened.

Nothing to score yet: this grades once the result is in.

> Mestemaker has risen from a curiosity to a legitimate early-round candidate.

*(their words, quoted for attribution)*

## The claims

- **Drew Mestemaker to be picked “a legitimate early-round candidate”**
  - Kind: Mock Draft Picks · About: Drew Mestemaker
  - Verdict: not settled yet

## Who this take is about

- Drew Mestemaker — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/players/drew-mestemaker

## What others said about the same people

- Gilberto Manzano on Drew Mestemaker: Manzano laid out a mini mock of the first round for clubs holding multiple picks, projecting Jeremiah Smith first overall and placing quarterbacks, edge rushers and corners with the Titans, Dolphins, Jets, Eagles and Browns. Manzano also pegged CJ Carr to go no later than No. 9 and tabbed two Kentucky linemen as top-60 prospects. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/980fc167-55c8-46b1-b3c4-55a2854fdb05 (not settled)
- Gilberto Manzano on Drew Mestemaker: Manzano ranks their top 10 prospects for the 2027 NFL draft, with Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith at No. 1 and Texas edge Colin Simmons at No. 2, and makes several positional-order and draft-slot calls within the list. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/9e3d4872-185d-47c1-8680-4d3ac76db796 (not settled)
- Tyler Rowland on Drew Mestemaker: Roland lays out an 'ideal, not likely' Titans scenario built on landing the No. 1 pick and trading back with the Jets for Jeremiah Smith, while predicting Drew Mestemacher will be the first quarterback off the board and projecting where the Jets' three first-round picks will land. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/0182399b-9834-4cf0-9e84-7158e3e0be40 (not settled)
- Nick Faria on Drew Mestemaker: Faria projects the Jets to hold multiple top-10 picks in the 2027 draft (including No. 4 via Indianapolis), and names Oklahoma State's Drew Mestemaker as the first quarterback off the board with Notre Dame's C.J. Carr second; they also call Texas edge Colin Simmons a lock for the top five. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/703f92af-2cdd-4c7a-b532-2361ff9fb2b3 (not settled)
- Ryan Wilson on Drew Mestemaker: Wilson's 2027 first-round mock draft has Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith going No. 1 overall to the Chargers, five quarterbacks taken in Round 1 (Mensah first among them), and the Browns trading up for Drew Mestemaker. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/1b9d164f-69dc-41a3-9ed7-8a6bc6eacc32 (not settled)
- Justin Melo on Drew Mestemaker: Melo's 2027 first-round mock draft assigns all 32 picks, headlined by Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith going No. 1 overall to the Chargers and Oklahoma State QB Drew Mestemaker as the first quarterback off the board at No. 3 to Miami. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/6ccbdee9-822a-4693-8aca-332b4ecaae65 (not settled)

## More mock draft picks

The same kind of call, about other players and teams.

- Chris Simms on Malachi Corley: Simms named the Bears the NFL's best overall offense and best rushing offense, the Bengals the best passing offense, Seattle the best total defense, Minnesota the best pass defense and Tampa Bay the best run defense; they also called Tristan Wirfs the league's best offensive lineman, projected Miami's Malachi Toney as a top-15 pick, and predicted a 30-14 Jaguars win in Baltimore. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/c0fd4647-2de8-4a5f-bac2-950fed303ee9 (scored 11.46)
- Todd McShay on Keelon Russell: While breaking down LSU's offense, McShay called receiver Jackson Harris a top-50 NFL draft prospect, and later said LSU's Sam Levitt and Alabama's Keelan Russell are potential top-10 picks in a future draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/15d40546-2ab9-4ab8-b5bd-ed0ef7f26ae5 (scored 0)
- Philip Hughes on Kyle Kennard: Evaluating edge rusher Kyle Kennard ahead of the draft, the account projected them as a Day 2 selection. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/605a686a-b5f1-4611-82b4-961abf8de93e (scored 33.86)
- Blaine Grisak on Brian Thomas Jr.: Grisak argues the Rams should not trade a second-round pick for Jaguars receiver Brian Thomas Jr., calling it too great a risk and too high a cost. In an embedded tweet of their own from the 2024 pre-draft period, they suggested the Rams could select Thomas at pick No. 19. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/627bcf5d-9f1d-4a34-a1b7-53b8f0aebc40 (scored 84.09)
- Charlie Campbell on Xavier Williams: Campbell's draft stock report projects Indiana WR Charlie Becker as a top-10 pick in 2027, Mississippi State CB Kelley Jones as a first-rounder, Tennessee DT Xavier Gilliam as a top-15 pick, and Texas OT Trevor Goosby as a top-10 pick, while suggesting Arch Manning could still be a first-rounder if they declare. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2dd4bf46-e5eb-4dff-8500-95d9fdbd2986 (scored 0)
- Walt on Fernando Mendoza: In a running series of coach/GM hiring and firing grades, Walt projects Fernando Mendoza as the No. 1 overall pick of the Raiders in the 2026 draft and has LSU's Garrett Nussmeier going No. 2 overall in their 2026 mock draft. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/29bb2d31-fbe3-40db-b378-be5ba5d990b0 (scored 100)

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Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages.

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