{"id":264606,"date":"2026-02-07T13:37:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T18:37:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=264606"},"modified":"2026-02-07T13:39:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T18:39:53","slug":"should-the-jets-draft-garrett-nussmeier-in-the-second-round","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2026\/02\/07\/should-the-jets-draft-garrett-nussmeier-in-the-second-round\/","title":{"rendered":"Should the Jets Draft Underrated QB in the Second Round?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span>The New York Jets are in desperate need of a quarterback. Should they draft LSU star Garrett Nussmeier?\u00a0<\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/thejetpress.com\/jets-qb-draft-target-quickly-stolen-show-senior-bowl-01kg5d2f0y4x\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Justin Fried<\/a> of The Jet Press wrote that the Jets could take Nussmeier in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft:<\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-blue my-f-1\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">\u201cNussmeier is a little undersized at just 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, but he&#8217;s one of the few quarterbacks in this class with genuine starting-caliber traits. He&#8217;s a small gunslinger type without the arm talent of someone like <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/18\/baker-mayfield-reaffirms-blame-for-loss-against-falcons\/\" target=\"_self\">Baker Mayfield<\/a>, and he already turns 24 years old next week, but there&#8217;s a lot to like about his tape. The Jets could look to target Nussmeier with one of their second-round picks at either No. 33 or 44 overall, pairing him with a veteran in the process. He might be a worthwhile QB swing for a Jets regime that is very much on the hot seat entering 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n<p q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6k\">Nussmeier isn\u2019t expected to be a superstar by any means. But he could be a solid Day 2 pick.<\/p>\n<h2>Should the Jets Draft LSU Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier in the Second Round?<\/h2>\n<h3><span>His Career Thus Far<\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Garrett Nussmeier attended Edward S. Marcus High School in Flower Mound, Texas. He passed for 3,788 yards and 38 touchdowns during his junior season. In his senior year, he threw for 2,815 yards and 33 touchdowns. Nussmeier received college offers from schools such as Texas, Georgia, Miami (FL), and North Carolina, but he ultimately chose LSU.<\/p>\n<p>In 2022 and 2023, Nussmeier served as the backup to current Washington Commanders quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/01\/17\/jayden-daniels-commanders-quarterback-dynasty-outlook\/\" target=\"_self\">Jayden Daniels<\/a>. He then took over the starting role in 2024. Nussmeier led LSU to victories over Ole Miss and South Carolina, which were both top-15 ranked teams. He finished the season with <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cfb\/players\/garrett-nussmeier-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">4,052<\/a> passing yards and 29 touchdowns.<\/p>\n<p><span>This past season, Garrett Nussmeier <\/span><span>went 5-4 with impressive wins over 4th-ranked Clemson and <\/span><span>SEC rival Florida. However, he <\/span><span>was benched in games against Texas A&amp;M and Alabama, and suffered a mid-season abdominal injury.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3>Yes, Nussmeier Makes Sense<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_263657\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-263657\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"Justin Fields\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" class=\"wp-image-263657 size-large\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-1536x1025.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/5\/2026\/01\/Justin-Fields-1200x800.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-263657\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nov 23, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; New York Jets quarterback Justin Fields (7) looks on before the game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&amp;T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Last offseason, the Jets signed <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/12\/21\/chiefs-advised-to-sign-justin-fields\/\" target=\"_self\">Justin Fields<\/a>, hoping he\u2019d emerge as a major contributor. However, the former Chicago Bears and Steelers quarterback just wasn\u2019t the answer. Fields was <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/17\/jets-to-bench-fields-start-taylor-at-quarterback\/\" target=\"_self\">benched<\/a> in favor of Tyrod Taylor and also dealt with a <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nfl\/story\/_\/id\/47401559\/jets-placing-qb-justin-fields-ir-coach-aaron-glenn-says\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">knee injury<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fields is not the answer and neither are Taylor and Brady Cook, who started four games for the Jets this past season.<\/p>\n<p>The Jets own the second overall pick in this year\u2019s draft. With that pick, they were expected to take Oregon quarterback <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/10\/30\/dante-moore-2026-nfl-draft-profile\/\" target=\"_self\">Dante Moore<\/a>. Yet, he decided to stay in school. The Jets will have to wait until 2027 to draft a franchise quarterback in the first round. Instead, they\u2019ll likely use the second overall pick this year to draft a defensive player like Ohio State\u2019s Arvell Reese or Miami\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2025\/11\/20\/rueben-bain-jr-early-2026-nfl-draft-scouting-report\/\" target=\"_self\">Rueben Bain Jr<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Drafting Garrett Nussmeier in the second round makes sense. Although he\u2019s coming off a disappointing season, he still has the potential to bounce back and become a starting NFL quarterback at some point.<\/p>\n<p>Nussmeier possesses a quick release and is able to throw on the run. He\u2019s also known for putting touch on throws to layer over defenders. So yes, the Jets should consider taking him if they get the opportunity.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main Photo: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Jets could select LSU quarterback Garrett Nussmeier in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4890,"featured_media":241564,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6431,6],"tags":[32799,6990,7330],"class_list":["post-264606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-teams","category-jets","tag-garrett-nussmeier","tag-justin-fields","tag-new-york-jets-news"],"modified_by":"Mike Roberts","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4890"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264606"}],"version-history":[{"count":43,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":264831,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/264606\/revisions\/264831"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/241564"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=264606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=264606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}