How Chiefs GM Brett Veach hyped Garrett Nussmeier up after surprising NFL Draft slide

One of the more surprising developments of the 2026 NFL Draft involved LSU Tigers star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier falling to the seventh round before the Kansas City Chiefs took a flier on him at overall pick No. 249. 

Per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, the Chiefs recently released footage showing what general manager Brett Veach said to Nussmeier after the once-promising prospect nearly went undrafted. 

Chiefs want Garrett Nussmeier to feel like a winner of NFL Draft

"I know it’s been a long day, but just know that you’re going to head to the best quarterback room in the NFL here," Veach told Nussmeier. "We’re going to turn this pick in now and make you the newest member of the Kansas City Chiefs." 

Nussmeier is now on track to share a quarterback room with three-time Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes and 2021 first-round draft pick Justin Fields. It's still too early to know, for sure, when Mahomes will be able to return to action after he underwent surgery to repair the torn ACL and torn LCL he suffered in the middle of December 2025. That said, Fields would almost certainly serve as Kansas City's temporary QB1 in September if Mahomes isn't cleared to play by then. 

Meanwhile, some thought ahead of the draft that Nussmeier was the third-best quarterback in this year's class. However, at least one NFC quarterbacks coach told NFL insider Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated that he had Nussmeier "graded as a seventh-round pick."

Teams clearly agreed with that coach's assessment. 

Eric Bieniemy glad that Garrett Nussmeier won't be an opponent anytime soon

Current Chiefs offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy held that role with UCLA in 2024 when Nussmeier produced a stellar performance versus the Bruins. Bieniemy sounds happy that he now has Nussmeier as a student. 

"Last time I saw you, I was on the opposite sideline at UCLA," Bieniemy told Nussmeier. "You had a pretty good game against us. I’m very proud of you and looking forward to having this opportunity to work with you."

Unless disaster strikes the Chiefs, Nussmeier shouldn't take a regular-season snap as a pro anytime soon. Perhaps he will play well enough during preseason games held in 2027 to cause a quarterback-needy team to trade for his services at that time.