Player comparison

Drew Mestemaker

Dean Kindig

Threw for 2,885 yards and added 431 rushing yards with eight rushing scores in his first year at Oklahoma. Transfer from North Texas. Led the FBS in passing yards last season (4,379). Electric throws on tape. Arm strength to access all levels, but decision making must improve. Very agile for his size and his release is so quick. Has a whip for an arm and isn't afraid to attack small windows. Mestemaker's pocket composure and anticipation over the middle are rare for a player with so little starting experience, and there is a foundation worth developing. His touch, post-snap processing lapses, and mechanical consistency all have room to improve, and how far he gets with those will determine his ceiling as an NFL starter.

Anthony Colandrea

Dean Kindig

Led UNLV to a thrilling 30-23 victory over UCLA, and was its standout player, passing for 203 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for another 59 yards. Colandrea played one season at UNLV (2025) and two seasons at Virginia (2023 and 2024) before transferring to Nebraska. Colandrea has played in 33 games in his career with 31 starts. He started all 14 games for UNLV in 2025 after starting 17 games in his two seasons at Virginia. In his three seasons before Nebraska, Colandrea completed 627-of-983 passes for 7,542 yards and 49 touchdowns. He also had 328 carries for 1,151 yards and 12 touchdowns. Colandrea was the 2025 Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year at UNLV. He was also a four-time selection as the conference offensive player of the week, tying Randall Cunningham for the most career offense player-of-the-week honors in school history. Colandrea completed 275-of-417 passes for 3,459 yards and 23 touchdowns, averaging nearly 250 passing yards per game. He also ran for 649 yards and 10 touchdowns, averaging more than five yards per carry. Colandrea had seven games with 250 or more passing yards in 2025, including a pair of 300-yard passing efforts. He threw at least one touchdown pass in 13 of 14 games and had at least one rushing touchdown eight times. Colandrea directed a Rebel offense that ranked 18th in scoring and 20th in total offense. Two connections with Bills: Marquel Blackwell: The Buffalo Bills running backs coach previously served as the RB coach at the University of Virginia during Colandrea's freshman season (2023). Blackwell directly coached with the Cavaliers while Colandrea was breaking UVA's single-season freshman passing records. Tony Elliott: While not on an NFL coaching staff, the Virginia head coach who recruited and developed Colandrea extensively as his starting quarterback works closely with the Buffalo Bills front office during the evaluation and scouting process.