Below is an excerpt from LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier’s scouting report on The SIS NFL Draft Website.
Click here to read the full report and ratings from Nathan Cooper, as well as statistical analysis from our R&D team.
Overall rank: 103rd
Positional Rank: 3rd
Grade: 6.3 (limited starter)
Moderate Injury Risk
Summary:
Nussmeier has the leadership qualities and deep passing ability to make it as a quality backup at the next level, but he’ll need to improve his decision making and footwork if he wants to become a starting-level player.
Garrett Nussmeier is the starting quarterback in LSU’s RPO and play-action-heavy spread offense that operates nearly exclusively out of the shotgun. During his five-year career with the Tigers, he played in 40 games with 23 starts. He suffered a significant abdominal strain in fall camp that he re-aggregated late in the year, which caused him to miss the final 4 games of the 2025 season. Also, in 2023, he had knee surgery for Osgood-Schlatter disease. His father, Doug, was drafted in the 4th Round of the 1994 NFL Draft and played 5 years as a quarterback in the league. Additionally, he’s a long-time NFL coach, and is currently the Offensive Coordinator for the New Orleans Saints. Nussmeier is a sufficient athlete who possesses average height and build for the position. He’s a leader and a competitor, with those qualities on display before, throughout, and after games.
Nussmeier thrived in LSU’s system which was essentially based around the screen game and taking shots deep to go along with play action and RPO-style short-to-intermediate level throws. He has the ability to command the huddle, showing leadership qualities to help rally his team up behind him. He does a good job with pre-snap communication, getting players where they need to go or changing plays if needed. Nussmeier’s release is a bit inconsistent, but some of it is his ability to change arm angles, specifically dropping down to throw around oncoming traffic. However, this can result in some off-target throws. His overall accuracy is sufficient. He can put the ball where it needs to go at times, but on others, he misses too many wide open targets, either resulting in incompletions or inability for the receiver to do anything after the catch.
He does a good job driving the football, showing good arm strength, with the ability to layer it over second-level defenders into the intermediate level of the field. He can drive the ball down the field on deep throws, giving his receivers a chance to make a play. Where he gets into trouble is with his decision making. He has a gunslinger mentality and trusts his arm way too much and tries to fit balls into nearly impossible windows. Sometimes it works out for him, but other times it results in a turnover or near turnover. While he does a good job looking off the safety, he can get into a habit of pre-determining throws. In the pocket, Nussmeier shows sufficient awareness, but can struggle to stay in a clean pocket or work up into the pocket, often relying on rolling out to give himself the best opportunity. When pressure comes his way, his feet can get a little happy, which results in an unstable base. Other times, he gets his feet planted too early, closing him off from his target and forcing himself to have to throw across his body.
As a runner, Nussmeier isn’t much of a threat. He has some escapability in the pocket to scramble and gain a few yards. Aside from that and the occasional zone read pull to keep defenders honest, he’s not going to be someone that opposing defenses need to account for in the run game.
Nussmeier projects as a quality backup quarterback who will fit best in an RPO-style or play-action-heavy offense that also allows him to take shots down the field. He has traits to build from, but he’ll need to reel in his decision making in order to make it at the next level. He is likely a “win in spite of” quarterback currently, but if he returns to the form he showed in 2024, there’s potential for being a player with some low-end “win with” qualities.
