One year ago, Garrett Nussmeier was thought of as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. When the moment actually arrived, he was in tears after slipping into the back half of the seventh round.
Nussmeier was finally drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs with the 249th overall pick in the NFL Draft on Saturday. Some experts thought he could go as early as the fourth round, but it turned out that he looked like he was going to go undrafted.
Nussmeier was in tears when the Chiefs called him to tell him that he would be their pick.
.@LSUfootball QB Garrett Nussmeier got emotional after getting drafted to the @Chiefs 🥹
— NFL (@NFL) April 25, 2026
NFL Draft on NFLN/ESPN/ABC
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This is, undoubtedly, not how Nussmeier imagined these three days playing out. He threw for 4,052 yards with 29 touchdowns for LSU in 2024, but regressed across the board in 2025. He was bothered by an oblique injury for much of the season and threw for just 1,927 yards and 12 touchdowns. He actually wound up benched late in the season due to ineffectiveness.
A cyst was discovered on Nussmeier’s back during the NFL Combine, which was the cause of many of his injury issues last year. That likely scared some teams off.
Nussmeier dealt with oblique pain last year, as a result of a nerve problem. A cyst was found in his back, and that’s at least part of this. His tape not being great last year is the other obvious factor. https://t.co/LCpQvxWMtc
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) April 25, 2026
Nussmeier is highly unlikely to see much action as long as the Chiefs have Patrick Mahomes around and healthy, as he is expected to be for the start of the season. He is an insurance policy and a long-term project for them after a fall that would have been very hard to imagine at this time last year.
