NFL mock draft 2027: Jets trade up for Mestemaker as new QB1
Web StoryWatch this story in 15 seconds →Key takeaways
- The Athletic's October 30 mock draft projects the New York Jets trading up to pick Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker.
- ESPN analyst Mel Kiper ranks Mestemaker second overall and the best quarterback in the 2027 class.
- Mestemaker went from an unranked high-school recruit to possible top pick in one season.
The New York Jets may trade up for their next quarterback. The Athletic's latest 2027 NFL mock draft projects New York moving up the board to take Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker. A mock draft is an expert's guess at how the draft will play out.
What happened
Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic published his newest 2027 NFL mock draft on October 30, according to Wire Report. It projects the Jets trading up to draft Mestemaker, the rising star quarterback from Oklahoma State.
The Jets need a quarterback badly. They sit at 2-5 after a 28-25 loss to the Miami Dolphins, per Wire Report. Their record puts them outside the top picks, so they would need to trade to reach one.
Trading up means swapping lower picks for a higher pick. Summaries of the Athletic projection say the Jets would send two top-10 picks, a 2027 third-rounder and a 2028 mid-round pick to Tennessee for the top overall pick. That is a steep price, but the Jets may be able to pay it, since FanSided reports New York owns three first-round picks in this draft: its own, plus picks from Dallas and Indianapolis.
A second mock draft agrees on Mestemaker going to the Jets. Daniel Rios of EssentiallySports has Tennessee taking Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith with the top pick, then the Jets trading with the Los Angeles Chargers, who hold the second pick, to take Mestemaker at second overall. Rios calls Mestemaker the first quarterback off the board, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound passer with elite arm talent.
Why it matters
Mestemaker's rise is the story of this draft class. He did not start a single game at quarterback in high school, according to FanSided. He walked on at North Texas, earned the starting job for 2025, then followed his coach to Oklahoma State, and Bleacher Report notes he was unranked as a high-school prospect who spent his first college season as a backup.
His coach, Eric Morris, knows how to develop quarterbacks. FanSided reports Morris coached Cam Ward from a little-known recruit into the top overall pick of the 2025 NFL draft. Now Morris and Mestemaker moved to Oklahoma State together, and NFL teams are watching.
The experts now rank Mestemaker as the best quarterback in the class. ESPN analyst Mel Kiper released a new top-25 big board on October 30, per Bleacher Report. A big board is an analyst's personal ranking of players, and Kiper puts Mestemaker second overall and first among quarterbacks, behind only Ohio State receiver Jeremiah Smith.
The most famous quarterback in the class has fallen. Texas quarterback Arch Manning sits at sixth among quarterbacks and 24th overall on Kiper's board, the same spots he held on October 15. Manning's numbers over seven games: about 63 percent completions, 1,507 passing yards, 12 touchdown passes and 7 interceptions, and Bleacher Report notes his 7 interceptions in 196 throws this season equal his total from 404 throws last season.
FanSided lists five teams that could realistically land Mestemaker: the Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals and Cleveland Browns. The Jets stand out because three first-round picks give them the most trade ammunition. The team's past veteran quarterback moves have not worked, FanSided adds, so the franchise may finally be ready to build around a young arm.
What happens next
The college season still has about a month left, per Bleacher Report, so these rankings can shift. The NFL trade deadline on November 10 could also move draft picks around, changing who holds the top selections. Real trades have already reshaped the board once, according to Wire Report.
Other quarterbacks are still in the race. Miami's Darian Mensah, Ole Miss's Trinidad Chambliss, Notre Dame's CJ Carr and Missouri's Austin Simmons all sit ahead of Manning on Kiper's board. Oregon's Dante Moore is out for the rest of the season with a concussion suffered on September 26, and Bleacher Report says he could return to school instead of entering the draft.
The Jets also have decisions to make on the field. They try to end a two-game losing streak in Week 9, per Wire Report, while the front office weighs how much draft capital to spend. Tennessee faces its own question: FanSided asks whether the Titans would draft another quarterback from coach Morris's system after Cam Ward's rough season in Brian Daboll's offense.
The real draft takes place April 29 in Washington DC, according to ESPN. Mock drafts are guesses, not promises, and teams change their minds every week as the college football season winds down. But for now, the search world has spoken: everyone wants to know if the Jets will trade up for Drew Mestemaker.
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