SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The NFL Draft is just days away for some former Syracuse football stars.
The Draft is scheduled for Thursday, April 24-Saturday, April 26th in Green Bay, Wisconsin.
Former SU quarterback Kyle McCord will almost certainly be the first Orange off the draft board. McCord exponentially elevated his draft stock in one season at Syracuse, after transferring from Ohio State prior to the 2024 campaign. He led the nation in passing yards last season – 4,779 yards set the ACC single-season record.
The senior also had a standout performance at the NFL Combine and SU’s Pro Day. He has reportedly been participating in private workouts ahead of the Draft with teams including the Saints, Steelers, Jets, and Giants.
In many mock drafts, McCord is projected to be taken late on Day Two (Friday, April 25th). Many NFL insiders have him as a late second or early third-round pick, though those projections vary.
FOX Sports’ Jordan Schultz and NFL insider Colin Cowherd labeled McCord the potential “sleeper of the draft” last week.
Cowherd said he sees McCord as a “top second-round pick.”
“Kyle McCord and Shedeur Sanders – I think it’s a coin flip,” said Cowherd. “I think this kid has a chance to be the second-best quarterback in the Draft.”
NFL teams view McCord as a traditional pocket passer with limited mobility, but like his size, composure, ball placement, and winning pedigree.
CBS Sports compares him to San Francisco 49ers QB Mac Jones and projects him as a fourth-round pick, slotting him as the fifth-best QB in this year’s Draft. The NFL Mock Draft Database has McCord as the 9th-best QB on the board. The Athletic’s 2025 Draft Guide, put together by analyst Dane Brugler, has McCord at seventh among his position group, projecting him to go in the third or fourth round.
Brugler’s guide also has Syracuse TE Oronde Gadsden, RB LeQuint Allen, and edge Fadil Diggs projected to be drafted from rounds 4-7 of the Draft on Saturday.
Numerous other former Orange have been working out for NFL teams this offseason in hopes of catching on as undrafted free agents, including LBs Justin Barron and Marlowe Wax, safety Alijah Clark, WR Jackson Meeks, OT Savion Washington, and CB Clarence Lewis.
Round one of the NFL Draft kicks off this Thursday, April 24th at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.
