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Mel Kiper 'not sold' on Garrett Nussmeier as an elite quarterback

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Four games into the college football season, ESPN’s Mel Kiper continues to collect data points on quarterbacks eligible for the 2026 NFL Draft. Giving out his latest rankings on Wednesday, LSU‘s Garrett Nussmeier came in at No. 4 overall. Not a bad spot to be but right now, Kiper is not completely solid on Nussmeier as a prospect.

“I’m not sold on Garrett Nussmeier as an elite quarterback yet,” Kiper said via ESPN’s First Draft. “I’m not… Garrett still has those throws that make you wonder, ‘Why?’ He’s going to be 24 coming into the NFL, so he’s going to be one of the older guys… Let’s see what happens there if the supporting cast comes together… I want to see, as we move along, does he get better and better as he gets accustomed to the new guys around him?”

Kiper also mentioned the LSU offensive line going through changes. The Tigers lost both tackles to last year’s NFL Draft, still working on gelling together. Nussmeier is, obviously, affected if his pockets are not consistent enough to find downfield targets.

Looking at those wide receivers, Aaron Anderson is Nussmeier’s top receiver from a stat perspective. He has 293 yards on 21 receptions. There is a prior connection between the two, as Anderson was a part of last year’s roster. Barion Brown and Bauer Sharp, the next two up in receiving yards, both played elsewhere in 2024. One of the program’s biggest NCAA transfer portal hauls, Nic Anderson, remains a big question too, only having seven catches for 44 yards.

Once settling in with the new faces, Kiper continues to want more from Nussmeier. He likely wants to see those “Why?” throws eliminated moving forward. Once accomplished, the conversation about Nussmeier being an elite prospect can begin in Kiper’s eyes.

Thankfully, there are plenty of big-time opportunities for Nussmeier to prove himself. LSU is about to begin a brutal stretch in SEC play, starting Saturday against the Ole Miss Rebels. Nussmeier put together an up-and-down performance against Ole Miss last season, throwing for 337 yards and three touchdowns but only completing 22 of 51 passes and adding two interceptions.

Nussmeier entered this NFL Draft cycle viewed as someone with the potential to go No. 1 overall. Right now, Kiper does not see it, and his No. 4 ranking reflects his thoughts. But he is still interested to see if the right development takes place over the next eight games.