It was a bit of a surprise when the Kansas City Chiefs spent their seventh round and final pick of the 2026 NFL Draft on LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. After all, this team has Patrick Mahomes as the starter and traded a sixth-round pick for Justin Fields in the offseason so why spend any draft pick on a quarterback?
Well, the answer is simple. The pick just made sense for the Chiefs in that moment. Nussmeier was once considered a first-round prospect but a down year in 2025 due to a cyst on his spinal cord led to him plummeting in the draft and when he was still there with pick 249, the Chiefs pounced.
Of all of the non-Fernando Mendoza to the Raiders quarterback landing spots in the draft, Jordan Reid of ESPN said that Nussmeier ending up in Kansas City was the best fit.
"While it took a lot longer than expected, Nussmeier went to Kansas City at pick No. 249 and gets a chance to learn under coach Andy Reid. With Patrick Mahomes recovering from an ACL injury, Nussmeier has a chance to compete with Justin Fields for significant reps in training camp."
Chiefs may have pulled off late draft steal with Garrett Nussmeier
Considering that Nussmeier was once deemed a first-round prospect, fell all the way to the seventh round, and now gets to learn from Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes, yeah, that does seem like a pretty good fit when thinking about it. The hope is that he's not taking any meaningful snaps anytime soon but he'll have a chance to learn from one of the best coaches of all time and one of the best quarterbacks of all time.
If Nussmeier plays well in preseason this year and next year, perhaps a quarterback-needy team would give up draft picks for him. Or, if nothing else, maybe the Chiefs can develop him as a reliable backup under Mahomes. That's a position they've never invested in since Mahomes has taken over and this could give them a chance to do just that.
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