Riley Leonard was not the first QB taken in the 2025 NFL Draft. In fact, he wasn’t even in the top eight, going in the sixth round as the Indianapolis Colts selected him 189th overall.
Yet the passer who guided Notre Dame to within one win of a national title is certainly one of the most interesting prospects at the position heading into the 2025 NFL season. After all, he threw for 2,861 yards and 21 touchdowns while also rushing for 906 yards and 17 scores in 2024.
Riley Leonard’s college coach thinks he has plenty of room to grow
In an ESPN.com article featuring coaches offering their takes on the draft, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman talked about his former QB, who spent one year in South Bend following three seasons at Duke.
“A lot of the talk is, he’s an ascending player,” Freeman said. “He’ll be a guy that isn’t near his ceiling. He can continue to improve, which is intriguing for the NFL.”
Indeed, NFL teams love potential and there’s less risk involved when it only costs you a sixth-round pick. In Leonard’s case, he is coming off a season in which he posted the highest completion percentage of his college career, 66.7, while also setting career-best marks in rushing yards and touchdowns, passing and total. At 6’4″, 214 pounds, he has good size for the position, especially as a dual-threat QB.
For the Colts, if all goes according to plan, Leonard won’t have a chance to show too much this season. The team still has the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft Anthony Richardson as the likely starter, and signed 2019 No. 6 overall pick Daniel Jones as a free agent to be the backup.
While that could leave Leonard buried on the bench, it may also provide him the necessary time off the field to refine his game and prove his college coach correct. The Colts are not entering the season with high expectations, though, and if the team’s veteran quarterbacks struggle, eventually there could be a call for the rookie.
If Leonard does get on the field and plays well, he would not be the first late-round pick to do so. His draft round has produced among others Marc Bulger, Matt Hasselbeck and yes, Tom Brady.
Then again, the list of star QBs taken in the draft’s penultimate round is not a long one so history is not on Leonard’s side. His college coach certainly is, however, and he’s surely not the only one who believes in the passer.