(NFL Combine) Kyle McCord: Biggest sleeper in NFL Draft
Photo by Mary Genrich
No this is not a Kyle McCord fan page, this is just analysis. Kyle McCord simply has the opportunity and talent to be one of the biggest sleepers in the 2025 NFL Draft. McCord's journey, marked by a controversial transfer from Ohio State to Syracuse, has been pivotal in his development and draft prospects. Let's not forget Kyle McCord did not just become good at football this past season. He was a consensus 5-star prospect coming out of highschool.
No matter how people try to rewrite history McCord made it to the pinnacle of College Football at Ohio State, a place that would be too big for many. During that season, he led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 record, throwing for 3,170 yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
Full transparency, before coming to graduate school at Syracuse, I was an Ohio State fan, in other words; I watched every Kyle McCord Ohio state start. No, his lone season at OSU did not look like his Syracuse season, but it was not bad quarterback play. McCords biggest issue was that Ohio State fans for years had been spoiled with a generational quarterback run. Cardale Jones won OSU a National championship, followed by Dwayne Haskins, Justin Fields, and C.J. Stroud. While not many of them panned out in the NFL, that was an exceptional run that any college would have given a lot to put on the field.
Furthermore, for as good as CJ Stroud is, he also never beat Michigan, the biggest downfall of McCord's tenure as OSU quarterback. That was the loss that eventually got him "ran out of town".
McCord has always emphasized that his transfer was a personal decision aimed at advancing his career. Factors influencing his choice included long standing relationships with Syracuse's coaching staff, notably head coach Fran Brown, offensive coordinator Jeff Nixon, and quarterbacks coach Nunzio Campanile.
But McCord, the ultimate professional, when asked about his time at OSU during the NFL Combine said, "I'll be the first person to admit, I didn't play my best football at Ohio State," McCord said. "The hardest thing about being a first-year starter is you kind of are learning by trial and error, and your errors are in front of millions of people... You're learning on the fly, you're learning how to bounce back from an interception or a misread."
Additionally, reports indicated that Ohio State's head coach Ryan Day was uncertain about McCord's ability to lead the team to a national championship, which may have contributed to McCord seeking a new environment where he could fully harness his potential. And who wants to play for a coach that doesn't believe in them, nobody.
Nonetheless, for everything that happened, all it proves is Kyle McCord is a product of adversity. Many will look at the transfer and say McCord was comfortable and comfort produced success. But there are many people that transferred "home" and didn't produce like this.
McCord worked for this from day one. A season in which he demolished Syracuse Football passing records he amassed 4,779 passing yards, surpassing Deshaun Watson's ACC single-season record of 4,593 yards set in 2016. McCord's 29 passing touchdowns eclipsed Ryan Nassib's previous Syracuse record of 26 touchdowns in a season. He consistently showcased his prowess by throwing for over 300 yards in 11 of 12 games, with a standout 470-yard game against UConn. His consistent excellence earned him a 10th-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting, the highest for a Syracuse player since 2001. And the first top-20 finish for Syracuse in years, pressure creates diamonds.
Looking towards the NFL, I am not willing to go as far as to say McCord is a day-1 starter. But wherever he is drafted the starter needs to stay healthy and maintain good play to retain his job. McCord has heavy "boom" potential. After learning a system and developing in the area of reading NFL defenses McCord's aggressiveness will be his friend.
McCord does not fear any defense. Scouts have given McCord many pro comps, and I disagree with all of them. Mainly because all of the comps are pocket passers with no mobility, ie. Kirk Cousins.
Because McCord would rather not leave the pocket does not mean he "can't". McCord is mobile and has enough mobility to create problems for defenses who play man and give him space to run. Therefore, my comp for Kyle McCord is the reinvented, Tampa Bay, Baker Mayfield.
At this stage of Mayfield's career his first read is not to take off, but if and when he does, it's with purpose. Mayfield is not the fastest guy on the field, but he's aggressive and it works. Mayfield has also come into his own as a pocket passer, a spot that I believe McCord may be better than Mayfield when Mayfield was coming into the league.
And while I hate the term "system quarterback" we would be remiss to deny that Mayfield has walked into the perfect situation in Tampa. Low expectations, high reward. After the retirement of Tom Brady many believed Tampa would return to the Tampa of old, Baker Mayfield shows up with low expectation and has produced with high reward for the team.
If Kyle McCord can find his Tampa Bay, and it may take some time; remember Baker has been in the league since 2018, McCord can thrive.
