Going into offseason workouts, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a full-blown position battle at quarterback. But not necessarily for this season. If we assume Aaron Rodgers will eventually show up and sign at some point, the duel between rookie Drew Allar and second-year quarterback Will Howard is going to be to see if the Steelers have their starter for 2027 and beyond.
But let’s say, for the sake of argurment that neither guys comes along and head coach Mike McCarthy isn’t sold on Allar or Howard going forward? It could mean the Steelers once against target a quarterback in the 2027 NFL draft. That’s what ESPN NFL draft writer Jordan Reid did in his very early mock draft for next year. Reid has the Steelers going back to Oklahoma State, this time selecting quarterback Drew Mestemaker. Here’s what Reid had to say about the pick.
The Steelers have been in the QB wilderness since Ben Roethlisberger retired after the 2021 season. With Aaron Rodgers expected to do the same shortly, is this Pittsburgh’s best opportunity to swing for a franchise QB?
Mestemaker is an incredible story, going from a zero-star walk-on at North Texas to throwing for 4,379 passing yards and 34 touchdowns with nine interceptions last season. He uses a fiery, three-quarters release, and his passes rarely lack velocity. He excelled in a spread-and-shred scheme and followed coach Eric Morris to Oklahoma State. His overconfidence is a gift and a curse, as he can get fixated on first reads and make head-scratching decisions. Cleaning that up on the Big 12 stage could make him a first-rounder next spring.
It’s pretty presumptive to have Mastemaker as a top-tier prospect after one season but there’s no doubt he has a high ceiling if he can improve his decision making. The last time the Steelers drafted an Oklahoma State quarterback is was Mason Rudolph in the third round back in 2018. On paper, the 2027 quarterback class is loaded with talent but we were saying the same thing last summer about the 2026 class before the bottom fell out for almost all of them.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: Steelers go back to OK State in early 2027 mock draft