ESPN Names 14 Players Who Could Be Picked No. 1 In The 2026 NFL Draft

ESPN's Jordan Reid recently wrote an article that named 14 players who could be picked No. 1 in the 2026 NFL Draft.

Four players were in his top tier as "Serious Contenders," with one being LSU's Garrett Nussmeier.

Three other quarterbacks were in Reid's "Serious Contenders" tier: South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers, Clemson's Cade Klubnik, Penn State's Drew Allar.

Here's what he had to say about Nussmeier:

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Garrett Nussmeier, QB, LSU
Predicted chance of going No. 1: 15%

Why he could be the top pick: Nussmeier performed well last season in succeeding 2023 Heisman Trophy winner Jayden Daniels, throwing for 4,052 yards and 29 touchdowns to 12 interceptions. Nussmeier is a fearless passer who produces highlights with his uncanny ability to see big plays and throw his receivers open.

The 6-2 200-pounder's arm is more flexible than powerful, but his great pocket vision and anticipation on throws to intermediate and deep areas of the fields stand out. He doesn't take many sacks (his 2.9% sack percentage was 12th lowest in the FBS), but can be reckless and put the ball in harm's way -- especially after breaking the pocket. This showed against ranked teams, as he had three games of two or more interceptions against those opponents.

While Nussmeier's aggressiveness can work against him, he has the smarts, accuracy and anticipation to be a top pick in the draft. Scouts will want to see more consistency and how he adjusts to a new set of receivers out of the transfer portal. He'll be tested right away against Clemson in Week 1.

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