Garrett
Nussmeier.
Garrett
Nussmeier.
LSU· 6'2"· 203 lb
R7 · #249 · Kansas City Chiefs"A processing-first, undersized pocket passer in the Jake Browning mold: the arm talent, third-read progression and preparation are legitimately NFL backup-caliber right now, and the 203-pound frame plus the turnover volume are what keep him from ever being penciled in as a starter."Pre-draft read
Nussmeier is a rhythm-and-timing pocket quarterback with a compact, quick release. He generates genuine velocity on intermediate throws, consistently hitting windows with passes like the hole shot, dig, and back-shoulder throw. He progresses through reads from the pocket, manipulating safeties with his eyes, and throws with anticipation.
While not functioning as a runner, Nussmeier is functional on the move, resetting his platform during rollouts to deliver 40-plus-yard throws off-balance. His aggressiveness, leading to explosive plays, also results in turnover-worthy throws, especially late-over-the-middle into double coverage. He drifts backward instead of climbing against interior pressure, affecting ball placement and velocity.
The Kansas City Chiefs operate a modern, pass-heavy spread RPO offense that features a diverse passing game and strategic use of the run, with emphasis on downfield execution and quarterback mobility.
Initially, he can contribute as a developmental backup, learning the system and focusing on refining his decision-making; his ceiling is a high-volume starting quarterback in a pass-first NFL offense.
A run-first, play-action-heavy offense that relies on quarterback runs and limited passing concepts would diminish his primary strengths.
Nussmeier's genuine rhythm and anticipation as a pocket passer, coupled with his arm talent, will enable him to compete for snaps if he can overcome durability and deep ball velocity concerns.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier 2026 NFL Draft Highlights
The cleanest available cut-up of the arm talent: intermediate velocity, the hole shot against two-high and the off-platform throws that made him a 2024 first-round projection.
Garrett Nussmeier Went From Top QB Prospect to 7th Round Pick
The best single explanation of the fall, tracking the 2024 tape against the injured 2025 version and the mechanical decline that scouts flagged.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier addresses how draft stock fell
Nussmeier in his own words on the abdominal injury, the LSU collapse and the pre-draft rebuild.
NFL Draft prospect Garrett Nussmeier health update & LSU | Senior Bowl Interview
The Mobile interview during the week he was named Senior Bowl Game MVP, with the clearest health timeline he gave publicly.
Garrett Nussmeier says he is ready to prove himself ahead of the NFL draft
Local Louisiana coverage from the LSU pro day, where scouts said the arm looked like the September version everyone expected in 2025.
Garrett Nussmeier on Chiefs: 'It''s a Great Opportunity for Me' | 2026 NFL Draft Press Conference
The introductory press conference after the final pick of the draft, framing the developmental role behind Patrick Mahomes and Justin Fields.
Nussmeier projects as an undersized, high-volume pocket passer whose arm talent was a significant part of his pre-draft evaluation. A team acquiring him is investing in a quarterback with advanced processing skills and the ability to sustain an offense through his passing acumen, provided his physical limitations and decision-making under duress can be managed.
His pre-draft journey included three years of backup duty before his breakout junior campaign in 2024, where he posted 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns. He returned as a preseason Heisman frontrunner in 2025 but an abdominal injury, which lingered throughout the season, significantly impacted his performance and the overall team's collapse. This injury visibly reduced his arm velocity and lower-body drive on deep throws in his final collegiate season.
Evaluators were concerned about his size, durability following the injury, and a tendency for aggression to lead to turnovers. Despite a strong pre-draft process, including Senior Bowl MVP honors and an impressive pro day, consensus projections varied. He was ultimately selected as the 249th and final pick of the 2026 NFL Draft by Kansas City, marking the Chiefs' first quarterback selection since Patrick Mahomes in 2017.
- 01
Arm Talent
Displays legitimate arm talent with a compact release, generating velocity on intermediate throws and accurately fitting the ball into tight windows.
- 02
Processing Ability
Exhibits advanced processing ability, regularly progressing to a third read and effectively manipulating safeties with his eyes.
- 03
Off-Platform Capability
Functional off-platform, demonstrating the capacity to reset his base on rollouts and deliver accurate 40-plus-yard throws.
- 04
Play Volume
Sustained elite volume responsibility in 2024, accounting for 0.615 overall usage and 0.980 of the pass game operation.
- 05
Quarterback Pedigree
Possesses a strong quarterback pedigree, indicating developed preparation habits from a father who played and coached in the NFL.
- 01
Undersized Physique
Undersized at 6-1 5/8 and 203 pounds with 30 3/8-inch arms, leading to reduced throwing lanes against interior pressure.
- 02
Reads Under Duress
Aggressive trigger sometimes results in turnover-worthy throws, exemplified by 12 interceptions on 525 attempts in 2024.
- 03
Durability Concerns
Significant durability concern due to an abdominal injury in 2025 fall camp that lingered throughout the season.
- 04
Pocket Presence
Breaks down under interior pressure, tending to drift backward rather than climbing, which diminishes placement and velocity.
| Yr | Team | G | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | LSU | 4 | 29 | 57 | 329 | 2 | 2 |
| 2022 | LSU | 7 | 52 | 84 | 800 | 5 | 4 |
| 2023 | LSU | 7 | 48 | 78 | 592 | 4 | 1 |
| 2024 | LSU | 13 | 336 | 524 | 4039 | 29 | 12 |
| 2025 | LSU | 9 | 194 | 288 | 1927 | 12 | 5 |
| Career | — | 40 | 659 | 1031 | 7687 | 52 | 24 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
- Trey'Dez GreenTE18%
- Aaron AndersonWR14%
- Donovan GreenTE12%
#1 of 12 tracked contributors · Production leaned on volume · Offense explosiveness 1.22 (p44) · CFBD — usage x PPA per tracked player
Honors
- Manning Award finalist (2024)
- Texas Bowl MVP (2024 season): 313 yards and 3 touchdowns in LSU's win over Baylor
- 4,052 passing yards and 29 touchdowns in 2024, one of the most productive passing seasons in LSU history
- Senior Bowl Game MVP (January 2026)
- Davey O'Brien Award preseason watch list (2024, 2025) and Manning Award preseason watch list (2025)
- Preseason Heisman Trophy favorite entering 2025
- Four-star recruit, ESPN No. 62 overall prospect and No. 13 pocket passer in the 2021 class
- Final pick of the 2026 NFL Draft (No. 249 overall) and the first quarterback drafted by Kansas City since Patrick Mahomes in 2017
The realistic path: a smart, accurate, physically limited passer who sticks as a QB2 in a strong quarterback room, plays well in spot duty when the starter goes down, and builds a decade-long career off of that value.
The ceiling: an undersized, aggressive downfield thrower who survives the early years on arm talent and competitiveness, finds the right system and play-caller, and becomes a legitimate long-term NFL starter despite the frame.
The floor: a college star whose draft-year injury never fully resolves, who spends his rookie contract on injured reserve and practice squads, and who never gets a clean shot at meaningful NFL snaps.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
The last pick of a draft is usually a favor or a flyer. This one was neither: it was a market correcting all the way past the point of reason and a team with no urgency picking up what fell. Fourteen months before Kansas City called him, Nussmeier was a consensus preseason Heisman candidate coming off 4,052 passing yards, and the CFBD record of that 2024 season explains why the projection was not fantasy. LSU posted a 0.236 offensive PPA with a 1.290 explosiveness figure and converted 49.7 percent of its third downs, and Nussmeier's individual usage - 0.615 overall, 0.980 of the pass game, 0.763 of all third-down snaps - put him in the 97th percentile nationally and the elite tier. He was not a caretaker inside a system; he was the system, on an offense whose run-blocking was mediocre at best (2.936 line yards, a 16.9 percent stuff rate) and whose passing-downs PPA of 0.374 against a standard-downs mark of 0.169 means LSU was better in obvious throwing situations than in normal ones. That is a quarterback carrying an offense, and it is the case for the player he was supposed to become.
Then 2025 happened, and the numbers collapsed in a way that reads like an injury report. LSU's offensive PPA fell to 0.087, standard-downs PPA went negative at -0.007, line yards dropped to 2.507 and the stuff rate spiked to 24.2 percent - the worst marks of the entire era. Nussmeier's own passing PPA fell from 0.34 to 0.20 while his usage stayed near the top of the country at 0.550 overall and 0.903 of the pass game. He was still being asked to do everything, on a broken surface, with an abdominal muscle that would not heal, for a program that was under new leadership mid-season.
The evaluation problem is that his last full body of work is 18 months old and his most recent one is bad, and the pre-draft circuit could only partially answer it - Senior Bowl MVP and a clean pro day are evidence of health, not of processing under NFL pressure. Kansas City is the ideal place for that answer to take a while. Behind Mahomes, coming off his own knee injury, and Justin Fields, Nussmeier does not have to be anything in 2026 except a healthy arm in the Kansas City quarterback room, which is the single best place in football to learn to play the position slowly. If the arm talent that produced 2024 is intact and the frame holds, the seventh round will look like theft. If the abdominal injury was the symptom of a body that cannot carry 525 attempts a year, he is a career QB3 who was famous for one autumn.