Eric Morris has done it again. After discovering a barely recruited quarterback named Cam Ward while he was the head coach at Incarnate Word and developing him into the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, Morris found another unknown at North Texas. Drew Mestemaker didn't start a game at quarterback in high school, but he walked on to Morris' team and earned the starting role for 2025. A year later, Morris and Mestemaker have moved on to Oklahoma State together, and while much of the highly touted 2027 quarterback class is faltering, Mestemaker is soaring up draft boards.

At this point, he looks like he'll end up at least going in the top five, if not at No. 1 overall. These teams have a realistic path to draft him, either via being really bad or by packaging some picks together to move up.

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins signed Malik Willis this offseason. My initial read on adding Willis while also hollowing out the rest of the roster was this: Willis would probably struggle with consistency in the early going, but he'd show enough to stay the starter in 2027 with what should be a far better supporting cast.

But Willis has struggled. Entering Week 7, Willis ranks 31st among quarterbacks in true passer rating and 54th in expected points added. He's struggling to make routine plays and while you can certainly blame the lack of viable weapons, one also has to wonder if the Dolphins have already seen enough to determine that Willis is only a placeholder until the team has a better prospect at the position.

Mestemaker is that "better" prospect. He might not have the same arm strength as Willis, but he's already far ahead in terms of ball placement, and he has a lot of room to continue growing. If Miami keeps struggling, making a change at quarterback will very much be in the cards, though it's also easy to see a scenario where the team trades down since it has so many needs.

Tennessee Titans

I don't know. I'm listing the Tennessee Titans here because Cam Ward's struggles put them in a position where they could easily talk themselves into drafting a quarterback early. Ward has a ton of talent and potential, but he's also struggled with consistency. Maybe the Titans decide two years is enough.

The problem is that Tennessee probably wouldn't be jumping at the bit to draft Mestemaker in particular because, well...we're back to the Eric Morris thing from the intro. If the team is convinced one Morris protege is a failure, would they really be willing to immediately go in and grab another one, even if Mestemaker and Ward are very different quarterbacks? It's a good question, and the Titans could easily talk themselves into Darian Mensah instead.

But just because something didn't work in the past doesn't mean it won't in the future. Ohio State quarterbacks were thought for years to all be NFL busts, but the Houston Texans drafted C.J. Stroud anyway and have been rewarded with multiple playoff wins. If Mestemaker is the best quarterback in this class, then he's the best quarterback in this class, and him sharing a college coach with Ward shouldn't dissuade the Titans from making this move. (What should dissuade them is simply that I think Ward deserves one more season to show he can be the guy in Tennessee, but I can't make that decision for this front office).

New York Jets

If there's a team that's best positioned to trade up for Mestemaker, it's the New York Jets, who have three first-round picks in this draft. In addition to their own, the team has Dallas and Indianapolis' firsts, which continue to get more valuable as the season goes along. 

The Jets don't have their 2027 starting quarterback on the roster. I mean...it's possible, I suppose, they turn to Geno Smith again, but that's very much a worst-case scenario for the team. Likewise, going into 2027 with Cade Klubnik in contention for a starting role is just pushing the "we eventually have to find a long-term starter" can down the road.

Mestemaker may or may not be the answer in New York, but the Jets have the makings of a decent offense, so he'd walk into a situation that's better than what past Jets quarterbacks have had to start with. That's at least one plus in the direction of "won't be the latest Jets bust," though nothing really guarantees that. Don't be scared, though, Jets. The past few years of bringing in veteran quarterbacks hasn't worked, so it's time to go with a young guy again.

Arizona Cardinals

The problem for the Arizona Cardinals is that the team might just be slightly too good to end up in a position to draft Mestemaker. This team has built a really intriguing offense and is a quarterback away from being a dangerous team, but the flip side of that is that even with Jacoby Brissett under center, they're feisty enough to eke out some wins. Entering Week 7, Arizona was set to drift at No. 10, putting them outside the range to get Mestemaker (or Darian Mensah, who looks like the QB2). The team could have to settle for the CJ Carr/Dante Moore tier of quarterbacks, which wouldn't be the end of the world but also isn't the ideal scenario.

But this is probably the best possible situation for Mestemaker to walk into. Trey McBride is a top-five tight end. Jeremiyah Love has a chance to turn into a top-five NFL running back. Michael Wilson won't ever be top five at his position, but he's a really solid player.

Sure, the Cardinals could let Carson Beck try his hand at the starting role in 2027, but Mestemaker has higher upside due to his mobility and accuracy. It's just a little hard to see how this Cardinals team can position itself to be in line to draft the QB1 in this class.

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns have already played their way out of the No. 1 overall pick sweepstakes with the team's surprisingly strong performance this season, but the team has both its pick and the Rams' pick in this class. That might not matter if the Browns keep winning games, but if Cleveland hits a rough patch while the Rams struggle to recover, Cleveland could end up with two picks in the 10-15 range in this class. Is that enough to form the basis of a trade up for Mestemaker? Maybe!

The argument for why the Browns should do this is pretty strong and also pretty clear: Cleveland is playing really well with Deshaun Watson at quarterback. Maybe some (or even a lot) of that is because Watson has rediscovered something in his game, but it's also because the Browns have a pretty decent team. The defense is playing better than expected post-Myles Garrett trade, and the team's collection of young skill position players are mostly all performing above expectations.

I doubt Cleveland re-signs Watson no matter how well he does down the stretch, and if Shedeur Sanders was the answer, he'd be the answer already. Moving up for Mestemaker is a move that potentially sets the Browns up for long-term success...if Mestemaker can avoid the whole "being a bust" thing that seems to happen for every Browns first-round quarterback.