Garrett Nussmeier, LSU
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LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier throwing around the football at the 2026 NFL Combine.
The New York Jets are turning over every stone in their search for a long-term QB answer.
LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier revealed on “The Insiders” that he is set to work out for the Jets ahead of the 2026 NFL draft.
Nussmeier, 24, is the son of former NFL player and current New Orleans Saints offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier.
NFL Network Insider Tom Pelissero called Nussmeier “one of the draft’s intriguing QB prospects.”
The Big Mystery Around Nussmeier
Nussmeier was talked about as a potential first-round pick during his collegiate career at LSU.
When you watch the 2024 tape, you can understand why. He completed 64.2% of his passes, threw for 4,052 passing yards, and had a 29 touchdown to 12 interception ratio in 13 games.
However, things fell apart this past season. Nussmeier only appeared in nine games. With those opportunities, he threw for 1,927 passing yards, completed 67.4% of his passes, and had a 12 touchdown to five interception ratio.
So what the heck happened?
“It has been a long road to try and get back to being healthy. It’s been tough, and it was a challenging year,” Nussmeier explained on NFL Network.
Pelissero revealed that what Nussmeier was dealing with was categorized as an “abdominal injury,” and he asked him to go into detail about what that truly was.
“The injury occured day two of fall camp last season. So, really, any time I went to throw the football, it was a stabbing pain in my ab. We actually didn’t know what it was either throughout the entire year. It’s not the trainers or doctors fault here, it was just kind of a rare deal. I have discussed with the teams what the actual injury was, now that we have the real diagnosis. All of the teams have that information. I won’t release that publically but it was a rare, frustrating deal,” Nussmeier said.
Ian Rapoport
“Because I went through what I went through this year, I don’t think there is anything that can faze me.” #LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier joined The Insiders on @NFLNetwork to discuss his health, his draft rise, and why he’s now ready for anything.
He did confirm that he is healthy now, heading into the draft.
It All Depends What You Believe
Was last year just a bad season due to injury? Is a healthy Nussmeier going to return to that 2024 form?
“I just want the opportunity to prove that I belong in this league. I just want to be able to prove that the Garrett Nussmeier that everyone saw in 2024 is still Garrett Nussmeier. I’m still that player, just because an injury stopped me from showing that this year doesn’t mean that I’m not going to get back to being me,” Nussmeier added.
On the consensus big board, Nussmeier is ranked as the No. 80 best overall player in the class. He is the third-ranked QB by those same rankings, only behind Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza and Alabama’s Ty Simpson.
ESPN’s Jordan Reid projects Nussmeier to go “late day two, early day three.” That means a late third rounder to an early fourth rounder.
Nussmeier is listed at 6-foot-2 and weighs 203 pounds.
“Undersized pocket passer with legitimate arm talent that has not been able to make up for some flaws in his game … He plays with a gunslinger’s mindset and doesn’t consistently prioritize ball security … He will make a throw that makes you a believer in one series, but he often follows that up with a turnover that reignites the doubt … Teams will need to balance Nussmeier’s mistakes and durability concerns against his potential to improve on his LSU output,” NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein wrote.