The 2025 NFL Draft just wrapped up on Saturday which immediately has NFL fans looking forward to the 2026 NFL Draft. This year's draft was centered around Left Tackle Will Campbell as he was a clear first round offensive tackle from his Freshman season on and LSU got to send another high end talent into the NFL with the 4th overall pick. The 2025 season and the 2026 NFL Draft is all about Garrett Nussmeier for LSU football.
While Will Campbell became beloved by LSU fans for his incredible play from his first game on campus, Garrett Nussmeier has gained the fanbases respect the opposite way. Garrett Nussmeier came to LSU and was forced to wait behind Max Johnson and Jayden Daniels. While most players would've transferred when Daniels was brought in, Nussmeier stuck around which is rare in the current era of College Football.
At times during his first season as a starter Garrett Nussmeier would look like the best quarterback in the Country while at otherwise he'd look exactly like a quarterback playing his first season in the SEC. The season built up a ton of excitement around Nussmeier as an NFL prospect but, he wisely chose to comeback to LSU, and continue to gain experience. Where Garrett Nussmeier gets drafted next year will say a ton about how the LSU football team fared in 2025.
CBS Sports 2026 NFL Mock Draft has Garrett Nussmeier drafted far lower than expected
Heading into the season with better weapons at his disposal, the expectation and the goal is that Nussmeier will be a Heisman frontrunner which would indicate he'd be in contention to be the 1st overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Instead, CBS Sports has Garrett Nussmeier falling out of the Top-10 in their 2026 NFL Mock Draft which would be a shock.
CBS Sports landed on Garrett Nussmeier being the 12th overall pick in their mock draft heading to the Los Angeles Rams. The selection of Nussmeier to the Rams with the 12th pick means CBS Sports views Nussmeier as the 4th best quarterback in the class and the 3rd best draft eligible quarterback in the SEC.
While being the 12th Overall pick would be a massive achievement, CBS Sports may be too low on Garrett Nussmeier. The mock draft is heavily expecting Arch Manning will take the SEC by storm but, he has less than 100 attempts in his career and could struggle like so many have in their first season starting. Drew Allar is mocked 2nd overall yet, his and Nussmeier's stats are very close with the slight edge to Nussmeier but, in Allar's defense he didn't have much help at wide receiver this season. LaNorris Sellers is the easiest of the 3 picks to defend as he's a freak athlete who could explode after his first season starting.
Why Garrett Nussmeier will be the Top Quarterback in the 2026 NFL Draft
The last two quarterbacks to return for a second season at LSU were Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels with the two making massive leaps taking home the Heisman Trophy and getting drafted in the top 5 despite being "older prospects". Nussmeier returns for his second season at LSU and he easily could take a very similar jump.
In 2024, LSU didn't have the wide receiver talent we've seen year over year as the Tigers replaced 2 1st round picks. The Tigers fixed this issue in the transfer portal adding elite talents in Nic Anderson and Barion Brown to go along with returnees Aaron Anderson and Chris Hilton Jr. The big armed quarterback will have two of the Nation's top deep threats which will allow him to finally showcase his talent with the right group around him.
Offensive Coordinator Joe Sloan and Garrett Nussmeier needed to gain experience in their first seasons and heading into 2025 the two should both be much improved with a better understanding of each other. LSU put a ton of pressure on Nussmeier to overcome the offenses flaws last season and as the team reshapes he's in the best position possible to grow as a quarterback and an NFL prospect.