The 2026 NFL Draft is flying by, and Garrett Nussmeier is still waiting for special moment. As time passes, it becomes more likely that Nussmeier won’t get a phone call during the draft. Take a look at what his outlook was before the draft and whether or not he will go undrafted.
Garrett Nussmeier’s Potential to be Undrafted
Nussmeier hasn’t been called yet and could very well go undrafted by the end of the draft. He was expected to be off the board in the opening four rounds, but it didn’t pan out that way. Many of the teams that needed a quarterback have already taken their swings at a quarterback.
Former LSU quarterback Nussmeier started the 2025 college football season as a consensus first-round lock. Now, he’s entering Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft without hearing his name called through 100 picks, a slide that many might have predicted based on his injuries.
The full picture of what went wrong didn’t emerge until the NFL combine in February, when medical evaluations revealed a cyst pressing on a nerve in Nussmeier’s spine. That was the root cause of the persistent oblique pain that plagued him during his last season at LSU.
Nussmeier addressed the injury during his pro day, telling reporters the pain hit during routine routes in the air. He has been transparent with NFL teams during pre-draft meetings, and the league does not consider the condition a long-term concern. He was asymptomatic throughout the pre-draft process and won Senior Bowl MVP.
Teams that needed a quarterback included the Steelers, Jets, and Cardinals. All of them picked quarterbacks not named Nussmeier.
“The Pittsburgh Steelers felt like a prime candidate to be in contention for Ty Simpson at 21, but the Rams’ selection at No. 13 overall foiled any possibility of that union,” Cummings wrote. “Now, however, the Steelers have four more Top 100 picks. That’s the kind of ammunition they need to potentially land Nussmeier as a solid consolation prize at decent value. In Mike McCarthy’s scheme, with Max Iheanachor boosting up his protection unit, Nussmeier could reach close to his maximum outcome.”
Pittsburgh used its No. 21 pick on Iheanachor, the Arizona State tackle, after Los Angeles surprised the league with the Simpson selection. The Steelers held picks at No. 53, No. 76, No. 85, and No. 99, so they had plenty of opportunities to take Nussmeier off the board and chose Drew Allar instead.
The industry consensus matched Cummings’ read. ESPN’s Matt Miller mocked Nussmeier to Pittsburgh at No. 53 in his post-Round 1 projection.
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In 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.
There are very few avenues for Nussmeier to be selected at this point in the draft. But there is no doubt that he will be picked up by a team swiftly after the draft. He will be a priority undrafted free agent if he doesn’t get the phone call from a team during the seven rounds of the 2026 NFL Draft
