NFL Draft Rumors: LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier could have been QB1 in 2025, claims insider

Garrett Nussmeier decided to stay at LSU for the 2025 season instead of declaring for the NFL Draft. Had Nussmeier elected to enter the draft, he could have been a first-round pick.

NFL insider Albert Breer spoke to NFL teams at the combine and multiple teams told him Nussmeier would have been QB1 had he declared for the draft. They also wanted him and Drew Allar to declare for the draft.

"I had a couple guys tell me that LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier could’ve been the first quarterback to go this year, and I had a couple others agree," Breer wrote.

"A couple teams, I heard, actually encouraged Penn State’s Drew Allar to declare, expecting that he’d rise through the process and go in the top 10. Clemson’s Cade Klubnik is another one who, had he declared, probably would’ve gone relatively high this year."

Nussmeier, Allar and Klubnik all decided to return to college football and get more experience. But, had they all declared, they all would have been first-round picks and added much-needed depth to the QB class.

Nussmeier went 337-for-525 for 4,052 yards for 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season with LSU.

Garrett Nussmeier explains why he stayed at LSU

Garrett Nussmeier decided to stay at LSU for the 2025 season as he says he owed his coaches and teammates more consistent play.

Nussmeier struggled with consistency last season, and he wants to prove he can remain consistent and boost his draft stock.

"I felt like the product that I put out there for my teammates and everybody involved in this organization wasn’t what I wanted it to be,” Nussmeier said, via TigerRag. “Wasn’t as consistent as I wanted it to be ...

"I felt like I owed that (more consistent play) to the coaches who had spent so much time with me, helping me reach my best,” he said. “And to the players who have busted their tails with me every day to try to help me be better as well. I felt like the job wasn’t finished. Business wasn’t handled yet. There’s a lot more for me to come back and do.”

Nussmeier and the Tigers will open their 2025 college football season against Clemson on August 30.