Garrett Nussmeier NFL Draft Scouting Report: The Leroy Jenkins Of The 2026 Class

A lot can change in one year. Just ask LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier, who was a trendy potential 2026 top-10 pick … before the actual 2025 season happened.

Of course, injuries played a role, and Nussmeier certainly did some REALLY good things in 2024 to get in the way-too-early 1.01 conversation in the first place.

Today, we'll get to know Nussmeier a bit better by breaking down five cool things about the 24-year-old talent, including:

How we got here: From Texas to the Bayou
Biggest strengths: 2024 was a helluva drug
Three cool stats: This LSU supporting cast wasn't exactly elite
Causes for concern: Older prospect without a trait-based superpower
Fun facts: The son of a boy dad quarterback

And of course, we'll finish things off with several provocative comps that will hopefully get the people going.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

NFL Draft Scouting Report For Garrett Nussmeier | QB

How Garrett Nussmeier Got Here: From Texas to the Bayou

The four-star, pro-style QB from Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas, joins former rival turned fellow draft hopeful Ty Simpson as increasingly rare highly-touted recruits who never transferred. The decision to stay loyal meant Nussmeier had to sit behind Jayden Daniels for two years. Still, it contributed to him hitting the ground running with 4,052 yards and 29 TDs as a first-year starter in 2024.

And then came 2025. Nussmeier suffered knee and abdominal injuries in August and September. The latter issue potentially played a large role in his rough steps back in virtually every efficiency metric out there.

The 6-foot-1, 205-pound 24-year-old talent is hardly a perfect prospect. That doesn't mean it's impossible to paint a picture of potential success with a glass-half-full attitude.

Garrett Nussmeier's Biggest Strengths: 2024 was a helluva drug

Two notable good things about Mr. Nussmeier:

Pocket movement and mobility aren't too shabby: Not elite, and there's a reason why Nussmeier rushed for -153 yards (including sacks) during his career. Still, he's willing to step up in a muddled pocket, made a habit of delivering strikes on half-rollouts, and proved capable of making the first pressure miss. This is a fun little spin move!

Garrett Nussmeier spinning away from pressure pic.twitter.com/0BNfPxg36O
— Ian Hartitz (@Ihartitz) February 23, 2026

2024 highs were HIGH: Nussmeier finished his career as a top-four passer in school history in passing yards and touchdowns, largely thanks to his big debut season as a starter. He really passed the eye test: Only four Power 4 QBs had more big-time throws than Nussmeier (26) in 2024. This bomb against Oklahoma was fun. There is *one* really good season on tape here, which, hey, is more than a lot of people can say.

Three Cool Garrett Nussmeier Stats: This LSU supporting cast wasn't exactly elite

Three more cool stats and facts about Nussmeier that line up with what you'll see from watching him play:

This offensive environment wasn't too great: 60th among 68 Power Four teams if you want to be specific about it in terms of Supporting Cast Rating. 63rd in total drops! 62nd in explosive runs! This sure didn't look like a group being completely victimized by its signal-caller.
Screens! Screens! Screens!: Nussmeier was one of just 12 Power Four QBs to throw a screen on at least 20% of their dropbacks in 2025. This is a big reason why he had the single-lowest average depth of target (7 yards)!
Was, at one point, solid under pressure: Nussmeier did a much better job not letting pressures turn into sacks in 2024 (9.8% pressure-to-sack rate, fifth-best) vs. 2025 (19%, 53rd). He's at his best when given the benefit of a clean pocket, but he's not a complete sitting duck should pressure arise.

Causes for Concern With Garrett Nussmeier: Older prospect without a trait-based superpower

Of course, as is the case with any prospect, there are some red flags to concern yourself with here.

Lack of elite physical trait is concerning: There's not really a true calling card here. We've paid our respects to Nussmeier's sack-avoidance skills, but we're still not talking about anything close to a legit dual-threat option. There's more arm talent (touch, accuracy) than arm strength. 6'1", 205 pounds. I'd be pretty surprised if he posts a good 40 time.

Gunslinger mentality borders on reckless: This became an even bigger problem considering the aforementioned underwhelming physical traits. There were times it certainly seemed like his arm couldn't cash the checks his mind was writing. Remember when we mentioned Nussmeier ranking among the top-10 QBs in PFF's big-time throw rate metric in 2024? Well, the same is also true for his turnover-worthy play rate.

Older prospect with one good year of tape: Nussmeier turned 24 in February with just 23 starts to his name. Injuries be damned: It's tough to be overly excited about more than half of them.

Fun Garrett Nussmeier Facts: The son of a boy dad quarterback

Four facts of the fun variety about Nussmeier:

Garrett's Dad, Doug, was briefly a backup NFL QB before moving to coaching. Doug currently works as Kellen Moore's offensive coordinator for the Saints.
Because Dad was a coach, Garrett moved *12* times growing up, living in eight different states, as well as Canada—home of the 2026 silver medal-winning Olympic hockey team.
Garrett's nickname is "Nuss", and the LSU offense would go by the "Nuss Bus" when he was at QB. That's just good, clean family fun right there.
If he could have one superpower, it would be … time traveling! Honestly, it makes a lot of sense. Imagine if you could just go back in time and try to make up for every on-field mistake you ever made. Basically, get to hit the restart button on real life whenever you want. Great call here from Garrett.

Garrett Nussmeier NFL Draft Player Comps

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for: My favorite comps for Garrett Nussmeier:

Righty 2025 Tua
Mullet-less Gardner Minshew
Poor man's Andy Dalton
Leroy Jenkins

Best of luck to Nussmeier on his NFL journey, and thank you all for reading!