There are plenty of paths the Pittsburgh Steelers could travel to figure out the quarterback position. One that seems most likely, if he returns for another year, is simply bringing Aaron Rodgers back. But even if he returns, and especially if he doesn’t, the Steelers still might look to add to the position this offseason. The draft is their final chance to do so. Although he’s not a candidate in the first two rounds, LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier could make sense in the third.
In a three-round mock draft posted on Monday, PFF’s Dalton Schultz had Nussmeier landing with the Steelers in the third round, at the 85th overall pick. His other Pittsburgh selections included WR Denzel Boston in the first round, OT Max Iheanachor in the second, then CB Daylen Everette and S Bud Clark in the third.
If Rodgers does return, he’d join Mason Rudolph and Will Howard to form the same trio the Steelers had last season. But the draft could still give them a chance to add to the position. While Mike McCarthy has mentioned both Rodgers and Howard plenty since taking the job, he hasn’t spoken about Rudolph much. There is a chance the new coaching staff isn’t as big a fan of Rudolph as the last one. It’s just a thought, but maybe the Steelers fancy a younger quarterback in the draft instead of him.
If they do, there are reasons it could be Nussmeier. For one, past connections clearly mean a lot to Mike McCarthy. And he has some with Nussmeier’s father, Doug Nussmeier. Doug was both a quarterback and a tight end coach in Dallas under McCarthy. Recently, Garrett himself explained that he’s met McCarthy a few times and said he’d love to become a Steeler.
On the field, things are a little more complicated. Garrett Nussmeier can process things quickly, play within his offensive scheme, throw an accurate ball, and has some athleticism to his game. However, there were some real concerns in his final year of college. Nussmeier isn’t afraid to put the ball in harm’s way. But he doesn’t quite have the arm strength to fulfill his gunslinger mentality. He doesn’t have a big stature and isn’t great under pressure.
Yet, it is worth mentioning that Nussmeier was dealing with injuries towards the end of the year. His final stretch in 2025 wasn’t very impressive. And Nussmeier noted some bad habits he fell into when trying to play through that abdominal injury. With a full offseason to heal, he could enter 2026 in better form than what we saw towards the end of 2025.
Either way, the third round is a reasonable spot to select him. Our Alex Kozora had the Steelers selecting Nussmeier with the same pick during his first mock draft. If Pittsburgh adds another quarterback in the draft, Nussmeier in the third round makes more sense than reaching for a quarterback in the first two does.