The waiting game continues for Garrett Nussmeier. The former LSU star has dealt with injuries and didn’t have a great season in 2025. Now, he is slipping down the draft board as he awaits his name to be called in the 2026 NFL Draft. It was expected that he’d be selected in the first four rounds, but the fifth round has started, and Nussmeier is still undrafted.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport expressed some confusion about why Nussmeier hasn’t been picked.
NFL Analyst Reacts to Garrett Nussmeier’s Slide
Nussmeier is sliding down the draft as he anxiously awaits the opportunity that he’s worked for his whole life. It seemed like a sure thing that he’d be picked by now, but the draft always comes with shocking slides each year. Shedeur Sanders was the story in 2025; now it’s Nussmeier in 2026.
Rapoport acknowledged the injury issues in 2025, but is still questioning why teams aren’t taking a swing at Nussmeier.
“Still, I would say a little odd that he not been selected yet, especially because most teams believe he would be a good backup quarterback at the least,” said Rapoport.
From The NFL Draft: #LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier still has not been selected into the fifth round, a surprise. pic.twitter.com/BqaaiwME2u
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 25, 2026
Nussmeier struggled with oblique issues during the 2025 season, limiting him to just nine games. But he wasn’t the same quarterback from the year before. He threw for the fifth-most yards in the 2024 season with over 4,000 yards, but didn’t even reach the 2,000-yard mark last season.
According to PFSN’s CFB QB Impact Metric, Nussmeier ranked 110th in the nation last year with an impact score of 75.9.
There were plenty of teams that needed to draft a quarterback, and teams were often out to find the answer to their quarterback issues, yet Nussmeier hasn’t been selected. The Raiders got their guy at No. 1 in Fernando Mendoza, the Cardinals got Miami QB Carson Beck in the third round, the Steelers took Drew Allar, and the Jets even picked Clemson QB Cade Klubnik in the fourth round.
Klubnik wasn’t projected to be picked above Nussmeier in the days and weeks leading up to the draft. Nussmeier was projected to be one of the top picks in this year’s draft before the 2025 season kept him limited. Instead, he’s fallen to the fifth round at the minimum behind quarterbacks like Klubnik that don’t carry the same injury risks as Nussmeier.
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The Browns could be a very interesting destination for Nussmeier after they took two QBs in last year’s draft. But with a new regime and quarterbacks that haven’t taken true control of the starting job, the Browns might take a flier on a late-round QB, and Nussmeier could be the guy. Of the teams that needed QBs, most of them have taken their chance on one, and Nussmeier is running out of time as he waits for his name to be called
In PFSN’s analyst Ian Cummings’ latest mock draft for Day 3 of the NFL Draft, he projected the San Francisco 49ers taking a flyer on Nussmeier in the fifth round with the 179th overall pick. It remains to be seen whether that turns out to be true.
