The Kansas City Chiefs need a camp arm as Patrick Mahomes continues his rehab, and Garrett Nussmeier's quite a name.
It took a while for the Kansas City Chiefs to get around to improving their offense during the draft, but when they did they made a couple of splashy selections. One was quarterback Garrett Nussmeier of LSU, who was once considered a first-round possibility before things started to go sideways for him.
The Chiefs took Nussmeier with the 249th pick of the draft, and according to Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk, it was an emotional moment for the quarterback after his tumble down the draft board. That’s how Williams described the scene as Nussmeier donned a Chiefs cap in a celebration with his family, which included his father Doug, who’s an offensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.
It’s hard to pinpoint just what went south for Nussmeier during his LSU career. His arm strength is unquestioned, and he can make all the throws. He started 23 games for the Tigers in five seasons in Baton Rouge, going 15-8 while completing 64 percent of his passes for 7,699 yards with 52 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
But Nussmeier’s career arc in college definitely came with a downward slope. LSU was a contender when Nussmeier rose up to become a starter and his name even appeared in a few sentences with another Baton Rouge product, Joe Burrow of the Cincinnati Bengals.
Those comparisons didn’t take long to disappear, however. Nussmeier’s decisions became increasingly questionable, and it didn’t take long for LSU’s rabid fan base to turn on him. The quarterback was expected to be a mid-round selection in the draft, but instead he fell all the way to the last round.
Part of this is about bad coaching, though. Nussmeier got caught up in the Brian Kelly mess, which resulted in constant turmoil as Kelly was fired and then ended up suing the school over his buyout. The Chiefs are hoping that a solid program that features the tutelage of Andy Reid can turn him into more than a reclamation project, although that’s an uphill battle at this point.
But drafting Nussmeier does cast the recent trade for quarterback Justin Fields of the New York Jets in a slightly different light. Reid has been talking up Fields even though the quarterback has put up some really bad tape, and Nussmeier could be a much better pocket passer if the Chiefs can straighten him out.
Kansas City’s quarterback room now consists of Patrick Mahomes, Fields, Chris Oladokun and Jake Haener, so there’s an opportunity to move up if Nussmeier can recapture some of the early magic he showed at LSU.