NFL Draft analysts rave about John Mateer's playmaking ability, compare him to former elite Oklahoma Heisman winners
The Oklahoma Sooners scored a major win in the offseason, pulling in quarterback John Mateer out of the transfer portal from Washington State. Mateer had a sensational 2024 season leading the Cougars in his first season as a starter, and the Sooners are hoping he can do similar in 2025 this season. Mateer's phenomenal season […]
The Oklahoma Sooners scored a major win in the offseason, pulling in quarterback John Mateer out of the transfer portal from Washington State. Mateer had a sensational 2024 season leading the Cougars in his first season as a starter, and the Sooners are hoping he can do similar in 2025 this season.
Mateer's phenomenal season already has him on NFL radars after just a single season as a starter.
On the NFL Stock Exchange show, one of the top NFL Draft shows (if not the top) available, hosts Trevor Sikkema and Connor Rogers both ranked Mateer as a top-10 quarterback prospect in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft, with Mateer ranking as QB8 for Sikkema and QB5 for Rogers.
Both analysts raved about Mateer's moxie and talent as a player, and both agreed he was one of the best playmakers at the position for this upcoming class.
Rogers explained why he had him as a top-five quarterback prospect, but did share some of his concerns and where Mateer needs to improve as well.
"This dude has pretty wild tape to watch. Just getting down to the numbers, he threw for over 3100 yards and ran for over a thousand yards. That's the kind of impact he has on the field. He's got running back numbers as a rusher. 19 big-time throws in PFF's system. Team captain. To me, the production as a rusher and passer, the way he impacts games is phenomenal. He can make something out of nothing. When he rolls out and escapes, he makes people miss, he's fast, little scrambles go into chunk gains. The arm angles he throws with are almost like a pitcher. The way he can throw the ball when he needs to is unorthodox to watch but it's a weapon in his bag to hit different passing lanes. He's such a twitchy escape artist. I think a lot of last season was one read and run, so we're gonna see how that develops at Oklahoma. He is so gifted as a thrower he ignores his lower half, so they have to work on that from his mechanical standards. He's exciting to watch. Team captain, team leader, incredibly productive. He just has to improve mechanical consistency and processing. But if he does either of those things, he is right in the thick of this quarterback class."
Sikkema shared many of the same sentiments as Rogers about Mateer the playmaker, but also shared some of the same concerns, going a little more in depth about Mateer's mechanics and how they impact his full ability and placement.
"The way he releases the football is so unique. Now, you have to pair that with him only being 6'1. It can negatively impact the ball placement with being shorter than the rest. If he threw with better touch, I would have said 'Screw it, I'm putting him top five.' But the problem is, a lot of the time, he just throws the fastball right now, and you have to be multi-dimensional here with your touch passes, and he just seems to struggle when he has to take speed off. There's so much moxie, there's so much confidence. There are true shades of Baker Mayfield or Kyler Murray in his game. There really are. The issue that I have with him is that does he have the arm for the NFL to have this kind of throwing style, especially when pushing the ball downfield? There are so many hell yeah types of plays with this dude, just given how different his style is, I just want a little more time with him."
Both notably pointed out Mateer's mechanics as a problem, something that is worth exploring and absolutely needs to be fixed in the coming months. It's a concern of mine as well, and I'm not sure how much he can really fix in this regard.
The processing that Rogers points out is probably my biggest concern, as Mateer does need to speed up his reads to avoid taking sacks. Making one read before running isn't going to work as well against SEC defenses as well as it did against Wazzu's schedule last year, but a second year in the system and working against Venables' defense might iron some of those concerns out here.
Overall, it should thrill Sooners fans to hear about what analysts are saying about their new quarterback. Listening to the show, you could just tell that Rogers and Sikkema were buzzing about Mateer and how exciting of a playmaker he is. If he lives up to his billing, it will be a 2025 season to remember.
Brent Venables sends a bold message about John Mateer, raves about his quarterback’s elite competitive mindset
The leader Oklahoma was missing
