How Justin Bowick’s NFL Draft Stock Has Surged Since Joining Oklahoma State
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Much of the conversation around the NFL Draft and Oklahoma State football has been about quarterback Drew Mestemaker. And rightly so.
If Mestemaker chooses to go to the NFL Draft after this season, he’ll likely be a first-round pick. And if he does, it's likely he'll hear the name of one of his wide receivers called soon after.
Mestemaker is second in FBS in passing yards and tied for first in FBS in touchdown passes. The biggest beneficiary of his production has been fifth-year wide receiver Justin Bowick, who transferred from Illinois to Oklahoma State to play in a more wide-open offense. He wanted to put up the kinds of numbers that would get the attention of NFL scouts.
Well, mission accomplished.
Justin Bowick’s Rising Draft Stock
Biletnikoff Bowick@justinbowickjr has been added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List 🤠 pic.twitter.com/U0oFx5f16V
— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) November 5, 2026
Two things happened this week for the 6-5 wide receiver. First, he was named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list, which is given to the nation’s top wide receiver. Wyatt Young was on the list to start the season. Bowick’s production got him on the midseason update after he caught 41 passes for 731 yards and nine touchdowns, the last of which is tied for sixth in the country.
The other thing was ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. gushing about Bowick’s chances of being drafted.
Kiper wrote about the draft earlier this week and wrote the Bowick’s play made him “sit up and take notice.” He likened the wide receiver’s progress to that of a minor league baseball, as Bowick started his career at FCS Eastern Illinois and then transferred to Ball State, followed by Illinois. He wrote that Bowick’s ability to catch passes in tight coverage and his big hands had led him to include the OSU star in his third-round mix, which would be the second day of the draft.
That lines up with much of the praise that head coach Eric Morris has heaped on Bowick this season. He’s repeatedly talked about how Bowick prepares “like a professional,” is always in the training room taking care of his body and doing extra work to get better. Morris said one summer day he brought his kids to the Cowboys’ indoor facility to let them play and Bowick was there taking reps off a Jugs gun.
The relentless work ethic and attention to detail set up a career season for Bowick. So did his quick work in establishing chemistry with Mestemaker, who already had an established relationships with the receivers that transferred with him from North Texas — Wyatt Young, Miles Coleman and Terrence Lewis.
But Bowick has one thing those three don’t — height. At 6-5, that’s the perfect frame for a receiver in the X position in an NFL offense.
That’s exactly what he wanted when he transferred to OSU. The best part is he can add to his body of work before heading to the NFL this month.
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Matthew Postins is the publisher of Oklahoma State on SI. He is an award-winning sports journalist who was formerly the editor of the College Football America Yearbook and covers the Big 12 Conference for Heartland College Sports.
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