Riley Leonard NFL Draft: Best landing spot for Notre Dame QB

Riley Leonard has shown the ability to be a respectable quarterback throughout his college football career. He transferred from the Duke Blue Devils and played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2024, helping them make the College Football Playoff and reaching the national championship game, losing to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Despite playing four years, his numbers don't jump off the page. In 43 career games, he has completed 651 of 1022 (63.7%) of his passes for 7,311 yards, with 45 passing touchdowns to 18 interceptions. However, he has established himself as a dual threat, with 413 rushing attempts for 2,130 yards (5.2 yards per carry) with 36 rushing touchdowns.

Leonard is listed at 6-foot-4, 216 pounds and is 22 years old. He has some exceptional athleticism and won't take too many negative plays (sacks, turnovers, etc).

However, he struggles to be calm when in the pocket, instead feeling the pocket collapsing prematurely and bailing out before the play develops. He also has struggled for consistency with his mechanics, leading to inaccurate passes.

Despite being an early Day 3 talent, with the positional depth of quarterback and this draft class being weaker at the position, Leonard could hear his name called later on Day 2 of the 2025 NFL draft. Let's take a closer look at one landing spot that makes the most sense.

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Riley Leonard's potential landing spot in 2025 NFL draft

Based on teams needing a quarterback, there's a potential where quarterbacks fall back until Day 2 of the draft outside of the top two, Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders.

Riley Leonard could go off the board quicker than expected, though, as the Las Vegas Raiders are one team that needs to focus on the future of their quarterback position.

Pro Football Focus' Jordan Plocher had a mock draft where Riley Leonard was taken with the 68th pick by the Las Vegas Raiders.

"With the top two quarterbacks off the board by the No. 6 pick, the Raiders must address the position later in the draft. Trading a third-round pick for Geno Smith gives them a short-term solution, allowing them to hold off on spending a high draft pick at quarterback - at least for now."

The current quarterback room for the Raiders has Geno Smith, Aidan O'Connell, and Carter Bradley, so Riley Leonard would immediately slide into the backup position but likely battle for it during the preseason. Leonard allows the offense to open up a bit more and offers Las Vegas some flexibility with its first-round pick to address another position of need.

Other teams, like the Indianapolis Colts or Pittsburgh Steelers, could be interested in selecting Leonard as well. However, the Las Vegas Raiders seemingly are the best fit, with minority owner Tom Brady helping him and a coach like Pete Carroll in the early stage of his career.