The 2026 NFL Draft at quarterback isn’t what many expected it to be entering the 2025 college football season. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is likely the No. 1 overall pick and one of the best prospects in the draft class, and then a bunch of question marks at the position after that.
Quarterbacks like Alabama’s Ty Simpson, Penn State’s Drew Allar, Miami (FL)’s Carson Beck and LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier are all popular names after Mendoza, but all have concerns entering the NFL.
One name that seems to be tied to the Pittsburgh Steelers quite a bit at quarterback in the draft class happens to be Nussmeier. And he has a personal connection to new head coach Mike McCarthy, thanks to his dad, Doug, serving on McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys staff as the quarterbacks coach in 2020 and 2021.
Nussmeier currently projects as a mid-to-late Day 2 pick, one who could potentially be had in the third round. For NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah, he plays a similar style of football as a former AFC North quarterback, one who had a lot of success during his time in the division.
On his pre-NFL Scouting Combine conference call with media members Thursday, Jeremiah compared Nussmeier to former Cincinnati Bengals QB Andy Dalton.
“Garrett Nussmeier, a little undersized. He’s not an elite athlete either, but kind of reminded me of an Andy Dalton style, a player with a compact delivery. He’s decisive, he’s got enough arm,” Jeremiah said. “He doesn’t need a ton of foot space. He’s gonna be able to direct traffic and set fronts and set protections and those things. So, son of a coach, he’s gonna be really solid in that area.”
Heading into the 2025 season, Nussmeier was talked about as a potential first-round pick. He was fresh off a huge 2024 season in which he threw for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns. But last season, Nussmeier took a step back behind a poor offensive line and limited playmakers. He threw for just 1,927 yards and 12 touchdowns while battling injuries all season.
That tough season hurt his draft stock greatly. But there’s still a good quarterback in there worth taking a shot on, one who could develop into a solid starter like Dalton was for a long stretch in Cincinnati.
Of course, the Bengals never won a playoff game with Dalton under center, but they did have an explosive offense while he was in Cincinnati. With McCarthy at head coach and having a reputation as a QB whisperer, Nussmeier could be a nice developmental piece for the Steelers to take a swing on. Jeremiah said the third round is the “sweet spot” for Nussmeier though he could see him sneaking into the second round.
No QB can help himself more this pre-draft process than Garrett Nussmeier. The talent is obvious. The consistency isn’t…yet.
He might have the widest draft range of any QB. The highs are special but the lows will frustrate coaches/scouts. pic.twitter.com/CYQcUjJfZx
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) February 19, 2026
Will Howard remains in the picture, too, but the Steelers can’t put all their eggs in that developmental basket. Nussmeier was in a tough situation last year and the injuries hampered him. But the son of an NFL QB coach who has grown up around the game should be enticing.
He delivered a great performance at the Senior Bowl, earning game MVP honors and landing on Steelers Depot’s Nate Kosko’s winners list.
Alex Kozora sees Nussmeier as a Jake Browning-type quarterback, one who can be a spot starter and a good backup. There might be more there moving forward, but that seems like a reasonable swing to take with one of the three third-round picks the Steelers have in the 2026 NFL Draft.
After all, Dalton was a second-round pick and has gone on to start 169 games in the NFL. That seems like a reasonable comparison for Nussmeier at this point in the process.
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