Tankathon’s latest 2027 NFL mock draft has Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker coming off the board to the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round, at pick No. 4 of the round, a slot that puts him in range of teams already thinking past the present.
For the Steelers, that present is Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers, 42, is in what has been framed as his final season. He completed 24 of 40 passes for 221 yards and one touchdown in a 20-13 win over Atlanta in Week 1. No interceptions. No explosion, either. He went 0-for-6 on throws of more than 20 yards.
The Steelers kept four quarterbacks: Rodgers, Mason Rudolph, Will Howard and rookie Drew Allar. None of the younger three is locked in as the next franchise starter. That is the vacuum a second-round quarterback is meant to fill.
Mestemaker is listed at 6-foot-3 and 211 pounds. Tankathon ranks him 43rd overall and sixth among quarterbacks. The mock has him as a Round 2 pick. The résumé is louder than the ranking.
In 2025 at North Texas he led the FBS with 4,379 passing yards, threw 34 touchdowns against nine interceptions and completed 68.9 percent of his passes. He won the Burlsworth Trophy and American Conference Offensive Player of the Year honors after arriving as a walk-on.
He followed coach Eric Morris to Stillwater. The first start at Oklahoma State was a 24-10 loss to Tulsa: 29 of 49, 241 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions.
Seven days later he beat No. 6 Oregon. Mestemaker was 26 of 43 for 317 yards and two scores with two picks, plus 109 rushing yards and the winning touchdown. He ripped off a 75-yard run on the first snap.
“Mestemaker now is in that conversation,” a scout from an NFL playoff team told USA TODAY Sports after the Oregon game.
Through two weeks he is 55 of 92 for 558 yards, three touchdowns and four interceptions, a 59.8 completion rate. The rushing — 112 yards and a score — is new tape for evaluators who already knew the arm.
A second-round quarterback behind Rodgers is the Steelers model they have talked around for two years. Sign the veteran. Win now. Draft the successor before the window slams shut.
Allar was the 2026 developmental pick. Howard is still in the room. Rudolph is the emergency veteran. Adding Mestemaker in Round 2 would be a bet that production at North Texas and a signature win over Oregon outweigh a sloppy opener and a thin Power 4 sample.
Rodgers does not need a rival this fall. He needs a clean pocket and enough points to chase a playoff win the franchise has not had in nearly a decade. The draft pick is about 2027 and after.
Tankathon updates after every game. Mestemaker’s stock is moving. If it keeps rising, he may not last until the second round. If it stalls, Pittsburgh would not have to trade up to get a quarterback who has already thrown for more than 5,300 career yards.
The heir-apparent label is easy to print. Earning it in black and gold would take a year on the bench, then a roster that is finally ready to move on from a Hall of Famer.
