With their final pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs shocked a lot of people by selecting LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier. Truthfully, drafting a quarterback in the seventh round isn't a bad call, especially one with the intangibles that Nussmeier has but fans had mixed thoughts on the pick.
Nick Baumgardner of The Athletic, however, said that Nussmeier was the best value pick at quarterback in this year's draft. Baumgardner went through every position and picked each position's best value selection based on "The Beast". With Nussmeier originally receiving a third-round grade, he was the obvious value pick considering he didn't hear his name called until the seventh round.
"There were pretty obvious health concerns with Nussmeier, and most teams preferred to take chances on other QBs ahead of him. But of all the potential future NFL backups in this draft class, I thought Nussmeier was the only one with a real shot to someday earn a starting job. There is plenty of Tony Romo in Nussmeier’s game."
Garrett Nussmeier dubbed best value pick at QB in 2026 draft
The Chiefs obviously don't have a need for a starting quarterback considering they have one of the best in the game in Patrick Mahomes. That being said, what's the harm in drafting Nussmeier considering the untapped potential he has? Worst-case scenario is that he doesn't end up being a good player and is out of the league in a few years.
The best-case scenario is that the Chiefs develop him as a true backup behind Mahomes and then, maybe, a team would be interested in trading for him down the road. The hope is that the Chiefs don't see a ton from Nussmeier during the season unless it's in a blowout game because that'd mean something happened to Mahomes.
Still, it was smart of Veach to take a late-round flier on the LSU signal-caller. If he ends up playing well in the preseason over the next few years or gets a chance to shine during a regular season game, the Chiefs can greatly benefit. All the Chiefs had to surrender to land Nussmeier was spending a seventh-round pick too, so it was a low-risk/high-reward scenario. Love to see it.
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