Kyle McCord vs Riley Leonard: College stats comparison for two underdog QB picks before 2025 NFL Draft

Modified Apr 23, 2025 14:32 GMT

NFL: Combine - Source: Imagn — Kyle McCord vs Riley Leonard: College stats comparison for two underdog QB picks before 2025 NFL Draft - Source: Imagn

The 2025 NFL Draft is just a day away, and several quarterbacks will be selected, despite it being considered a weak quarterback class.

Entering the draft, two underdog dark horse prospects are Syracuse Orange's Kyle McCord and Notre Dame's Riley Leonard. Heading into the draft, let's take a look at a comparison between the two's college careers.

Kyle McCord's college stats

Kyle McCord played college football at Ohio State and Syracuse.

McCord started two seasons in his career, one at Ohio State and his final season with the Orange. In his college career over four seasons, he threw for 8,555 yards, 61 touchdowns, and 20 interceptions.

Last season at Syracuse, McCord went 391-for-552 for 4,779 yards, 34 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions.

McCord was a second-team All-ACC last season.

Riley Leonard's college stats

Riley Leonard began his college career at Duke before transferring to Notre Dame.

Leonard was Duke's backup as a freshman before starting for two seasons before transferring to the Fighting Irish. In his college career, Leonard threw for 7,311 yards, 45 touchdowns, and 18 interceptions.

Although he threw for fewer yards, fewer touchdowns, and more interceptions than McCord, Leonard is known for his legs. He rushed for 2,130 yards and 36 touchdowns in his career.

Last season at Notre Dame, Leonard led the Fighting Irish to the national championship. He threw for 2,861 yards, 21 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions, while rushing for 906 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Where will Kyle McCord & Riley Leonard be drafted?

Kyle McCord will hear his name called earlier than Riley Leonard at the 2025 NFL Draft.

According to NFLDraftBuzz, McCord is expected to be a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, meaning the Syracuse QB will be a Day 3 pick.

ESPN's NFL draft analyst Mel Kiper Jr. has McCord ranked as his sixth-best quarterback heading into the 2025 NFL Draft.

Leonard, meanwhile, is Kiper Jr.'s ninth-ranked quarterback. NFLDraftBuzz projects Leonard to be a late fourth or early fifth-round pick.

The 2025 NFL Draft is set for April 24-26 in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

About the author

Cole is an NHL, NFL and College Sports reporter at Sportskeeda with over 7 years of experience writing for publications like CBC, USA Today, SMG, BJPENN, Sherdog and SB Nation.

An NHL fan his whole life, Cole played rep hockey in Canada from age 5 until 17 and grew up rooting for Martin St. Louis and the Tampa Bay Lightning. His all-time favorite players are Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos, while Jon Cooper is his favorite coach of all time.

Cole attended Sheridan College and received his journalism degree in 2019. After decades of watching and reporting, he considers his knowledge of sports as his primary strength. He ensures that the same story has been reported by at least two reputed reporters before creating it.

Cole enjoys playing golf and spending time with friends and family when not reporting breaking stories. His favorite sports moment is from the 2010 Olympics, when Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal in overtime to beat Team USA for the gold medal.

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Edited by Cole Shelton