Draft Week 03 / 2026
College football. An NFL Draft lens.The next answer
Drew Mestemaker, 317 passing yards and 109 rushing against Oregon, gets Murray State. Jordan Seaton takes 22 career starts into Ole Miss. Five prospects, four games, and the one detail to watch in each.
Saturday game times 4 games · All times Eastern
- North Carolina at ClemsonESPNOfficial game details ↗
- Murray State at Oklahoma StateESPN+Official game details ↗
- LSU at Ole MissABCOfficial game details ↗
- UTSA at TexasSEC Network+Official game details ↗
September 19, 2026. Schedule checked October 1, 2026; times can change.
Drew Mestemaker beat Oregon with 317 yards through the air and 109 on the ground, and the attention arrived on schedule. What travels to Murray State is a narrower question: how fast he leaves a covered first read. Jordan Seaton brings 22 starts at left tackle into an SEC road game at Ole Miss. Ashton Hampton, 17 pass breakups in two seasons, gets North Carolina’s route runners at noon. Cam Coleman and Colin Simmons share the UTSA game in Austin, one trying to beat contact at the line, the other trying to beat a tackle who stops his first move. Here is the one thing we are watching in each game.
QB Oklahoma State
Drew Mestemaker
Murray State at Oklahoma State · · ESPN+
When the first receiver is covered, how fast does he get to the second?
Mestemaker put 317 passing yards and 109 rushing yards on Oregon. Last season he started all 14 games and threw for 4,379 yards, 34 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Murray State will not test his arm, but it will show what he does on an ordinary passing down when the first receiver is covered, which matters more for an NFL projection.
His report starts with anticipation and touch, and enough movement to keep a play alive. The gap is the second read. He can wait for a receiver to come open instead of moving on, and his footwork does not always come with him when he does. Watch his eyes and his feet together on the snaps where the first target is covered. A checkdown thrown on time from a set base says more about where he is than another scramble into open grass.
Watch for
- First read covered: does he reset his feet and throw, or hold and drift?
- Pressure in his face: does he find a platform to throw from or keep retreating?
OT LSU
Jordan Seaton
LSU at Ole Miss · · ABC
Can he stay square when the rush changes direction?
Seaton has 22 college starts, all at left tackle, before his first SEC season. He already moves like an NFL left tackle, and that is the case for him: he covers ground in pass protection and recovers when the first exchange goes wrong. Ole Miss, on the road, is his first conference test. Reaching the rusher is the part he already does well; the question is what happens after contact.
The concern is control at speed. Forward weight, a wide strike or a set that reaches too far gives the defender a path back inside, and his report puts run-block fit, sustain and displacement behind the movement by a clear margin. Watch the second move: can he replace his hands and keep his body between the rusher and the quarterback? On runs to his side, stay with the block until the back is past him. Reaching a hard spot counts for little if the defender is already free.
Watch for
- Against a change of direction, do his feet recover before his hands reach?
- On runs to his side, is he still on the block when the back arrives?
CB Clemson
Ashton Hampton
North Carolina at Clemson · · ESPN
At the break, does he stay close with his feet or reach with his hands?
Hampton has 17 starts, more than 1,100 defensive snaps and 17 pass breakups in two seasons at Clemson. He is long, he presses, and he uses the sideline to shrink a receiver’s options. The speed holds up downfield. Against North Carolina the thing to watch is the moment a route stops being a straight race and asks him to change direction.
A slow transition opens a short throwing window before his reach closes it, and his report counts the grabs that follow. Watch the plant, the first recovery step and what his hands do next. If the feet keep him close, he contests the ball without holding. That distinction survives an incompletion: a quarterback missing the throw does not erase the separation, and a completion into tight coverage does not make the coverage bad.
Watch for
- On a sharp inside break, how much space opens before he turns?
- Beaten by a step, does he close with his feet or grab?
WR Texas
Cam Coleman
UTSA at Texas · · SEC Network+
After contact at the line, does he still reach the break on time?
Coleman caught 56 passes for 708 yards and five touchdowns at Auburn last season, with 10 for 143 against Vanderbilt, and he can finish a throw that is not placed well. At Texas the job is more routine: be where Arch Manning expects him, when Manning expects him. Manning said in July that Coleman kept asking for extra throwing sessions. UTSA is the next chance to see that work show up as timing.
Start at the line of scrimmage. An early collision can knock his balance and his route off course, and a rounded cut delays the underneath separation. Follow the whole route, not the ball. A clean release, a sharp break and a routine catch would support a bigger role than the deep shot. His plays away from the ball count too: one unblocked defender turns a teammate’s catch into a short gain.
Watch for
- After the jam, is he at the top of the route when Manning expects him?
- On the short routes, does he create a clear window and finish the routine catch?
EDGE Texas
Colin Simmons
UTSA at Texas · · SEC Network+
When the tackle stops his first move, what comes next?
Simmons has 21 sacks in two seasons, 12 of them last year to lead the SEC, built on a first step that forces every tackle to protect the corner at once. The development question starts when a tackle gets square and catches him. Against UTSA, stay with the rushes that stall at first contact and watch whether a second move arrives.
The sequence that matters is pressure, counter, another move, with no pause in between. If he has to restart the rush, the ball is gone. Running plays ask for a different patience. His penetration can blow up a play early, but chasing it can leave the edge open, and his report lists contain losses alongside the early-2025 penalties that cost him snaps. Watch whether he keeps the outside closed while he works off the block. A tackle for loss and a sound edge set are two different grades.
Watch for
- Once the tackle meets his first move, is the counter immediate?
- Against the run, does he hold the edge before he chases?
After the games
Same five. A second look.
The postgame review has not been published yet.
We’ll return to these questions, separate what the new evidence supports from what remains open, and explain any change to our assessment. The preview above stays on the record.
- Drew MestemakerSeparate the box score from the evidence of faster reads and a repeatable base.
- Jordan SeatonGrade the pass sets and the sustained run blocks; the team sack total is not his number.
- Ashton HamptonRevisit the transitions and the contact; a quiet target count answers neither.
- Cam ColemanSeparate the highlight catches from repeatable timing, and keep any blocking verdict tied to plays we can name.
- Colin SimmonsGrade the counter and the run discipline separately; the sack column describes neither.
Follow the writing feed ↗Revisit your board ↗Run a mock draft ↗
Sources & reporting 10 references
Scouting context is synthesized from our existing master reports and their credited evaluations. This preview sets out what to watch; it does not claim a new film study. Official school publications supply the game details and current results. The Public Draft Board and its methodology are unchanged.
- Oklahoma State · Mestemaker’s Week 2 performance ↗
317 passing yards and 109 rushing yards against Oregon; upcoming Murray State game.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Oklahoma State · Murray State game center ↗
September 19, 6 p.m. Central, Stillwater, ESPN+.
Checked September 16, 2026 - LSU · official football schedule ↗
LSU at Ole Miss, September 19, 6:30 p.m. Central, ABC.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Clemson · North Carolina gameday guide ↗
North Carolina at Clemson, September 19, noon Eastern, ESPN.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Texas · UTSA game center ↗
UTSA at Texas, September 19, 7 p.m. Central, SEC Network+.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Draftanomics · Drew Mestemaker master report ↗
Timing, anticipation, progression speed, pocket response and footwork. Source credits accompany the full report.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Draftanomics · Jordan Seaton master report ↗
Pass-set movement, recovery, balance, hands and run-block development. Source credits accompany the full report.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Draftanomics · Ashton Hampton master report ↗
Press coverage, transitions, vertical recovery and contact discipline. Source credits accompany the full report.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Draftanomics · Cam Coleman master report ↗
Route timing, response to press, catching and work away from the ball. Source credits accompany the full report.
Checked September 16, 2026 - Draftanomics · Colin Simmons master report ↗
First-step threat, counter development and edge discipline. Source credits accompany the full report.
Checked September 16, 2026