Riley Leonard, Notre Dame: 2025 NFL Draft Profile & Scouting Report
Leonard was a three-star recruit from Fairhope High School in Fairhope, Ala. in the class of 2021
Riley Leonard is a dual threat quarterback with excellent size. Mounting injury concerns limited his production and development over the past year. Hopefully he puts together a complete season in 2024 and takes his game to the next level. Leonard currently has a borderline top 100 grade for the 2025 NFL Draft.
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Riley Leonard, QB Notre Dame: 2025 NFL Draft Profile
Classification: Senior quarterback from Fairhope, Ala.
Background: Leonard was a three-star recruit from Fairhope High School in Fairhope, Ala. in the class of 2021. He was the No. 682 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 554 for On3.com. Leonard was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 76 grade out of 100. He transferred from Duke to Notre Dame for the 2024 season. Leonard lettered in football all four years at Fairhope. As a high school senior, he passed for 1,900 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 500 yards, earning All-State honors. Leonard’s decorated high school career included Class 7A Player of the Year and AL.com Coastal Player of the Year honors as he led Fairhope to a 31-12 overall record. He participated in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic. Leonard also competed in basketball and track at the varsity levels. He was the basketball AL.com Edward Jones Coastal Male Athlete of the Year in 2020 and 2021. Leonard was one of five players named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association Super All-State Basketball Team. His father, Chad Leonard, played basketball at The Citadel (1992-95), where he set the school single-season record with 68 steals. The older Leonard finished his career with 137 steals, the second-most in program history. Riley Leonard’s uncle, Michael Sabol, played basketball at Georgetown University (1990-91). The younger Leonard was born on September 13, 2002.
Injuries & Off-Field: Right high ankle sprain vs. Notre Dame (2023), left turf toe forced him to exit vs. Louisville (2023), missed six total games in 2023, underwent tightrope (right) ankle surgery in January of 2024, missed spring time in 2024 as he required plate-exchange surgery on his right ankle in March to address a developing stress fracture
Awards: 2022 Honorable Mention All-ACC, 2022 Military Bowl MVP, 2023 Team Captain
Pros: Prototypical height, quick and smooth throwing motion, adjusts arm slots to meet throwing windows, shortens throwing motion to get the ball out under pressure, contorts body and throws darts while taking on contact, smooth mental processing while working through reads, uses eyes to look off and move defenders, examples of stepping up in the pocket to avoid pressure, doesn’t shy away from pressure, doesn’t force throws, escapes muddy pockets to create second chance plays, comfortable firing on the move, ball pops off his hand, velocity allows him to hit tight windows, softens short throws with touch to make them more catch-able, good velocity and tight spirals on throws over MOF, leads receivers over MOF, attempts to maximize his receiver’s leverage in one-on-one situations, arm strength unlocks throws 50 yards downfield, good touch on downfield throws, RPO threat, good open field speed to pick up chunks of yardage, mobility and agility to make some linebackers miss in space, sharp cuts to make defenders miss, contact balance to slip out of arm tackles, slides to protect himself
Cons: Four fumbles in both 2022 and 2023, above-average but far from elite arm, takes a lot of punishment, invites pressure by holding the ball one beat longer than he should, footwork becomes frantic when pressured in the pocket, some missed opportunities to step up in the pocket and avoid pressure, inconsistent sensing backside pressure, some awkward angles with front foot during throwing process, throws screens while fading away even when he has space, speed working through reads occasionally leads to him coming off routes too quickly, instances of staring down targets and tipping off DBs, gets tunnel vision, vision doesn’t consistently reveal crashing safeties on posts and MOF routes, lapses in vision vs. Louisville (2023), anticipation isn’t there consistently, some passes with too much velocity and not enough touch to layer ball to second level, some misses wide on out-breaking routes, accuracy on deep passes is all over the place, off-target throws under pressure lack touch, often challenging tight coverages and not connecting with the WR, throws a few hospital balls, too quick to drop his head and look to run, lacks elite agility
Overview: Leonard possesses prototypical height but is one of the more mobile quarterbacks in the class. His open field speed allows him to gash defenses for long runs, and he makes linebackers miss tackles in space with his agility and sharp cuts. Leonard also slips arm tackles and slides to protect himself. His mobility does make him a little too quick to drop his head and look to run on passing plays. The Alabama native is fast, but he’s not twitchy and lacks elite agility. He has a quick and smooth throwing motion and the versatility to adjust his arm slots and release points. Leonard shortens his throwing motion to get the ball out when he senses pressure. He contorts his body to release accurate throws while absorbing contact. Leonard takes a lot of punishment in the backfield. He invites pressure by holding the ball for one beat longer than he should. The senior’s footwork breaks down and becomes frantic when he senses pressure. His sense of blindside pressure comes and goes, and some panic under pressure leads to his passes lacking touch and being difficult to catch. Leonard misses some opportunities to step up in the pocket and evade outside rushers, but he also has plenty of positive reps showcasing good pocket management. He doesn’t shy away from pressure, which contributes to him taking some big hits. Leonard uses his mobility to escape muddy pockets and create second chance plays for the offense. He plants his front foot at some awkward angles during his throwing motion, which contributes to inaccurate passes. The former Duke captain showcases smooth mental processing while working through his reads. He manipulates defenders with his eyes to keep passing lanes clear. The ball pops off his hand with the velocity to shoot through tight windows. Leonard softens short throws with touch to make them more receiver friendly. His velocity and tight spirals showcase themselves best on plays over the middle of the field. Leonard leads receivers to space on throws over the middle and attempts to maximize the receiver’s leverage against one-on-one man coverage. He has the arm strength to unlock throws deeper than 50 yards downfield and applies good touch on those passes. However, Leonard’s arm falls well short of elite. The former three-star recruit’s deep passes result in everything from inside underthrows to overthrows that clear the receiver by five yards. He challenges too many tight windows or tight one-on-one coverages and doesn’t connect with his receiver. Leonard is getting better at stopping receivers instead of leading them into big hits, but he still throws a few hospital balls. His ability to anticipate throwing lanes is inconsistent, and he occasionally fails to use enough touch to layer throws to the second level. Leonard whiffed on a few open out-breaking routes in 2023. His speed processing reads sometimes causes him to come off routes too quickly. He gets caught staring down receivers with tunnel vision. This allows crashing safeties to make plays on post routes and routes over the middle of the field. In Leonard’s defense, his receivers did him very few favors in 2023. They dropped a bunch of catch-able passes and performed poorly in contested catch situations.
Overall, Leonard’s size and mobility make him a dual threat weapon for creative offenses, and he has a promising foundation to succeed within structure. Leonard suffers enough lapses in technique, accuracy, and awareness that he doesn’t qualify for the top bucket of quarterbacks in the 2025 class, but there’s a pathway for him to get there by next April.
Role & Scheme Fit: Mobile quarterback in a rhythm-based passing attack
Round Grade: Mid Third to Early Fourth Round
Size: 6'4", 217 lbs. (Unofficial)
Submitted: 06-19-24