The LSU Tigers return one of the best quarterbacks in the country, Garrett Nussmeier, and look to have one of the best passing offenses in the nation in 2025. After a strong first year as a starter, Nussmeier has been labeled as one of the favorites to go No. 1 overall in next year's NFL Draft, and with a big year in 2025, he could all but lock that spot down.

Todd McShay, one of the leading NFL Draft experts, did a deep dive into Nussmeier's 2024 tape and has compared him to a former first overall pick, Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield's had an up-and-down career. He started off hot with the Brown before a couple down years, but since he's signed with the Buccaneers, he's completely revitalized his career and is viewed as a top-10 quarterback in the league by some. He's a bit of a gunslinger and gets into trouble sometimes, but he's great in the pocket, can make pretty much any throw on the field and is one of the best anticipators in the league.

When evaluating quarterbacks, McShay uses four categories to breakdown their game: mental makeup, accuracy, release/arm strength and pocket mobility. He ranks them on a scale of 1-5 with one being the best and five being the worst.

Let's hop into McShay's breakdown of Nussmeier and why he compared him to Mayfield (you can view his full analysis here).

McShay loves what Nussmeier can do presnap, which was on full display in his first year as a starter. He has complete control of the offense, and McShay says you can really tell he's the son of a quarterback.

Another thing McShay loves about his mental makeup is his confidence. He knows he can make any throw on the field, and even when he makes a mistake, he's able to forget about it and not let it effect him in the long term.

The reason he gets a two and not a one here is because he thinks he needs to learn the difference between aggressive and careless, which is the number one thing he hopes to see out of him in his second season as a starter.

McShay gave Nussmeier and one on accuracy because of his ability to layer the football over defenders, throw off platform and connect on all three levels of the field. This is where he sees a lot of Baker Mayfield. Baker's great at escaping the pocket and making off balance throws on broken down plays, and he thinks Nussmeier has that same ability that you just can't teach.

McShay gave Nussmeier a two on his release/arm strength. He thinks he has a great release and can throw from pretty much any arm angle, but thinks he lacks the elite arm strength that guys like Josh Allen have. He makes up for it with his timing on the deep ball, though, which McShay says is almost always perfect.

McShay loves Nussmeier's ability to move in the pocket, saying he's never a sitting duck. He's always shuffling his feet trying to find the open space, but he knows when to bail out and get outside the pocket, which he has enough speed to be able to do.

What he (and Brian Kelly, funny enough) want to see more of is his rushing ability. He knows he can run, but he didn't show it much during the 2024 season. When holes open up, he wants to see him pick up five to seven yards and get down before taking a big hit.

Overall, McShay really likes Nussmeier as a prospect and thinks he'll have a very similar career to Baker Mayfield. He expects Nussmeier to be in QB1 conversation come April of next year.

In addition to the article I linked above, you can watch McShay's YouTube video on his Nussmeier breakdown here.