Rams and Jets eyeing ‘unfazed’ QB ranked above Ty Simpson and Carson Beck in NFL Draft

There are just over four weeks left until the 2026 NFL Draft and Garrett Nussmeier’s draft stock has taken a huge surge.

The 24-year-old quarterback out of LSU set college football alight in 2024, but played through a significant abdominal injury in 2025 which saw his production considerably decline.

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Having played just nine games in his senior year, the Tigers signal caller therefore seemed to fall behind other quarterbacks in his draft class.

But after putting on an impressive display at his LSU Pro Day – where his father, New Orleans Saints‘ offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier, was in attendance – buzz has steadily began increasing again.

According to Bucky Brooks’ latest top five quarterback prospects rankings, Nussmeier now ranks in third place behind heavily projected No. 1 overall pick Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson, but ahead of Carson Beck and Drew Allar.

In Yahoo Sports’ latest NFL Draft board, by Nate Tice and Charles McDonald, they even rank the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl MVP ahead of Alabama signal caller Simpson in second place at his position.

“It’s definitely been a long road to try to get back to being healthy. It’s been tough, it was definitely a challenging year,” Nussmeier told NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero on March 25.

“But I am very thankful to have gone through it, as crazy as that sounds. I feel like because I went through what I went through this year, I don’t know if there is anything that is going to be able to faze me going into this next level.”

In 2024, Nussmeier put scouts on notice when he completed 64.2 percent of his passes for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns to 12 interceptions, averaging 7.7 yards per attempt.

In his senior season, though, he had 1,927 passing yards for 12 touchdowns to five interceptions, albeit completing his throws at a career-high rate of 67.4 percent.

Appearing to look fully healthy once again, some NFL scouts have Nussmeier high on their radar, with the young ‘wildcard’ signal caller revealing that he is set to meet with the Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets, and Indianapolis Colts in the coming weeks.

“I got the Jets coming the next couple days here, I got the Rams coming into town. I’m headed out to Indianapolis,” he said.

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“Headed to [Jon] Gruden this weekend, which I’m excited for. That’s going to be a lot of fun. So, excited to get to cut it up with him a little bit. I got a lot of other stuff going on, and I got Zooms every day and things like that, and I’m sure there’ll be a couple more visits in there.”

Rams, Jets, Colts all showing interest

All three potential landing spots make some sense.

For the Rams, they know that they won’t be able to have Matthew Stafford run point forever, and could look to this season – the reigning MVP’s 18th of his career – to have a young budding signal caller come in and learn from the future Hall of Famer.

The Jets continue to struggle finding a long-term option they can build their franchise around, instead having opted to trade for last season’s interceptions leader in Geno Smith, with the 35-year-old expected to become the Jets’ eighth starting QB since 2023.

Of the three team Nussmeier mentioned, though, the Colts seems to be the unlikeliest landing spot.

This is because they recently re-signed Daniel Jones to a two-year, $88 million contract, and still have Riley Leonard and 2023 No. 4 overall pick Anthony Richardson on the roster, though the latter has reportedly been given permission to seek a trade elsewhere.

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To Nussmeier, though, it doesn’t matter where he lands, as long as he gets to achieve his dream of hearing his name called out during the draft.

“I’m just grateful to any organization that’s going to give me a chance,” Nussmeier said of his future. “I just want the opportunity to prove that I belong in this league.

“And I just want to be able to prove that the Garrett Nussmeier that everyone saw in 2024 is still Garrett Nussmeier. I’m still that player.

“Just because an injury stopped me from showing that this year, doesn’t mean that I’m not going to get back to being me, and I just want an opportunity to be able to show that.”

The Rams have the No. 13 overall pick in the first round, and then have to wait until No. 61 overall in the second round, while the Jets – who have also demonstrated strong interest in Simpson – hold the No. 2 and No. 16 overall picks, as well as the No. 33 and No. 44 picks in the second round.

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