Pete Thamel Reveals Surprise New QB1 for 2027 NFL Draft as Arch Manning Slides
A new name has emerged as the clear favorite for QB1 in the 2027 NFL Draft as Arch Manning and Dante Moore see their stock slide.
ESPN s Pete Thamel has revealed a surprising shift in the 2027 NFL Draft quarterback landscape. While Arch Manning once seemed poised to be the top pick, inconsistency and late-game mistakes have cast his status into question. Meanwhile, injured star players Dante Moore and Julian Sayin have left major gaps.
The 17-member panel of NFL scouts and executives polled by Thamel has clearly favored a new quarterback prospect: Drew Mestemaker. Mestemaker, currently a redshirt sophomore at Oklahoma State, received the most votes - 17 - making him the favored choice to be drafted first overall. This marks the greatest level of support for a single prospect in the three-year history of Thamel s quarterback poll, surpassing even CJ Carr (four votes), Darian Mensah (three votes), and Dante Moore (one vote).
Drew Mestemaker s journey to the top spot has been meteoric. Once a walk-on at North Texas, he won the 2025 Burlsworth Trophy as the nation s top former walk-on and was named American Conference Player of the Year for setting single-season records with 4,379 passing yards and 34 passing touchdowns, while throwing just nine interceptions (68.9% completion rate).
Now, he continues this impressive form, leading Oklahoma State to a 39-31 upset against Oregon, outperforming Dante Moore and throwing for 386 yards and four touchdowns without an interception in their 57-24 victory over Colorado.
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