It’s incredibly rare for a college and its ex-quarterback to both benefit from a mutual parting of ways, but that’s exactly what happened in the case of quarterback Kyle McCord and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ohio State successfully climbed the mountain top and won the national championship with Kansas State transfer Will Howard starting at QB, and McCord became college football’s leading passer at Syracuse with an FBS-most 4,779 yards passing, the most in a season in ACC history. That effort powered the Orange to a 10-3 record, marking their first 10-win season in a nearly a decade (since 2018). Having observed him up close at the East-West Shrine Bowl, McCord’s field vision and anticipation is much improved as is his footwork, both inside and outside of the pocket. McCord told CBS Sports at the East-West Shrine Bowl his footwork was a major emphasis for him this past offseason.
“Using my legs a little more. Scrambling, using my legs and running when needed I feel like added a key element to our offense in some big moments,” McCord said. “On top of that, just another year as a starter. Seeing the field really well, being able to throw with anticipation, throw with confidence. The game just slowed down.”
As a result, McCord’s 2025 NFL Draft stock rose, but how high will it climb? There’s a decent chance McCord could be a Day 3 pick, so with that in mind, here are his best team fits with that context in mind.
5. Las Vegas Raiders (73rd overall pick)
The Las Vegas Raiders have a massive hole at their quarterback position entering the 2025 offseason. They used three different starters last season — Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder, and they all failed to accomplish the following two things: throw for at least 10 touchdowns and win more than two games. It’s a good thing they have $92.8 million in effective cap space this offseason, the second-most in the NFL per OverTheCap.com. That puts them in a strong position to win the potential bidding war for Minnesota Vikings Pro Bowl quarterback Sam Darnold, this offseason’s best free agent quarterback.
Even if they do sign Darnold, it could be worthwhile to have a young backup to develop behind him after his end of season collapse between the Week 18 faceplant against the Detroit Lions and the meltdown he had against the Los Angeles Rams in the playoffs. McCord could be a decent fit in new offensive coordinator Chip Kelly’s attack after both spent the 2024 season in college football spread offenses. Plus, record-setting, All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers and wide receiver Jakboi Meyers are a couple reliable targets.
The New Orleans Saints are attached to Derek Carr for his age-34 season. However, his contract runs out of guaranteed money in 2026, the last season of his four-year, $150 million contract. Releasing Carr after the upcoming season could save New Orleans $32.8 million in cap space. Carr and the Saints are together for better or worse this year, but they could pave the way for McCord in 2026 with Carr’s cap hit set to balloon to $61.5 million.
New Orleans possesses a solid trio of playmakers McCord could play with in 2022 first-round pick receiver Chris Olave — a former teammate at Ohio State –, speedster Rashid Shaheed and five-time Pro Bowl running back Alvin Kamara. However, Olave and Shaheed are coming off of injury-marred 2024 seasons. New head coach Kellen Moore helped develop Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott into the three-time Pro Bowler he is now, and Moore just ran the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles offense that led to running back Saquon Barkley rushing for over 2,000 yards and winning NFL Offensive Player of the Year honors. The Saints could make some sense for McCord, a prolific college passer like Moore was at Boise State.
3. Los Angeles Rams (90th overall pick)
Things are starting to get weird between the Los Angeles Rams and quarterback Matthew Stafford. They’ve given Stafford the ability to speak to other NFL teams to get a sense of his market on a new deal at the age of 37. On Wednesday, the Athletic reported the Rams would be comfortable rolling with veteran Jimmy Garoppolo, age 34, as the starter in 2025 if Stafford is traded away on account of being financially displeased.
That could lead to McCord getting to learn for a year behind a seasoned vet and under a coach in Sean McVay, who many believe is the league’s best when it comes to scheme innovation. Throwing to Pro Bowl wide receiver Puka Nacua would also make this destination a sensible one. Los Angeles isn’t higher because there’s a chance Stafford could be retained for a while longer, thus casting uncertainty for McCord’s future playtime.
The Miami Dolphins have some speedy playmakers in former All-Pro wide receiver Tyreek Hill, former first-round receiver Jaylen Waddle and running back De’Von Achane.
However, they didn’t receive durability or big plays from the quarterback position in 2024. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa had the shortest average throw distance in the entire league (5.7 yards) this past season. That could be attributed to playing through the third diagnosed concussion of his NFL career, which led to a season in which his 10 completions of 20 or more air yards were tied for 31st in the league after tossing an NFL-most 60 combined across the 2022 and 2023 seasons. One could also point that decline toward head coach Mike McDaniel’s seemingly schematic stagnation this year too.
McCord could develop nicely under McDaniel’s guidance from the sidelines in 2025, and then there’s a chance he could one day be the Dolphins’ starting quarterback in 2026 or 2027. Tagovailoa doesn’t have any guaranteed salary on the last three seasons of his deal from 2026-28. That means Miami could have major cap savings in 2026 ($31.2 million), 2027 ($36.6 million) or 2028 ($57.4 million) if they let go of the injury-plagued passer before his contract expires. McCord playing with all that speed around him, although Hill’s days as a Dolphin could be numbered, could lead to a return for offensive fireworks in Miami in a few years.
Geno Smith would be an logical quarterback for McCord to apprentice behind to begin his NFL career. Smith just capped one of the better years of his career with career highs in completion percentage (70.4%), passing yards (4,320) and wins (10). Seattle’s offensive line needs an overhaul after allowing the third-highest quarterback pressure rate (39.4%) in the entire NFL last year, which highlights how amazing Smith’s production truly was. Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, a college teammate of McCord’s, tied the Seahawks’ single-season receptions record of 100 (also Tyler Lockett in 2020), and wide receiver DK Metcalf is one of six players ever with at least 900 yards receiving in each of his first six seasons along with Terry McLaurin, Mike Evans, A.J. Green, Randy Moss and Jerry Rice. There are weapons there.
McCord learning behind Smith for a year — he’ll be a free agent in 2026 — in the Shanahan offense under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak, with Seattle improving its offensive line before turning things over to the Syracuse quarterback, could work rather nicely. Kubiak was cooking at the beginning of 2024 before injuries decimated his offense, and McCord could find himself at home in a system that had Derek Carr looking like an early-season MVP contender.
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