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The superlatives to label Kyle McCord — Hall of Famer, best quarterback in the draft, the next Tom Brady — were flying around Ensley Athletic Center Monday afternoon. All it took was a half-hour-long throwing session for the projected third-round pick to receive stratospheric projections from his peers.

“He might have a gold jacket,” wide receiver Jackson Meeks said of McCord. “For real, though. If the right team gives him the right opportunity, man, he could have a gold jacket.”

McCord threw heaps of passes in his Pro Day workout. One was off target. The rest were nearly perfect. Still, McCord laughed off his teammates’ praise. He knows the road ahead is merely beginning.

“I tell them to slow your roll,” McCord said. “I got to get drafted first and get on a roster.”

Prior to the 2025 NFL Draft on April 24, Syracuse football held its Pro Day on Monday — where McCord was the center of attention. An SU Athletics spokesperson confirmed that “more than 30 teams” and nearly 50 scouts, coaches and front office members were present to watch the Orange’s NFL hopefuls. McCord ran through a variety of throwing drills directed by former NFL quarterback Jordan Palmer, McCord’s personal coach.

Kyle McCord drops back to attempt a pass at Syracuse’s Pro Day. The signal caller threw for an ACC record 4,779 yards in his lone year at SU. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor

McCord stayed on course after his promising NFL Combine showcase, flawlessly zipping passes into his receivers’ chests from every spot on the field. He looked calm. He looked accurate. He looked every bit like the quarterback who broke the Atlantic Coast Conference’s single-season passing yards record in 2024.

Most importantly, McCord looked NFL-ready.

“I just think the jump that I made from year one to year two as a starter, I don’t think there is another quarterback or player in the country that made that type of jump,” McCord said.

His teammates agreed.

“He’s going to be the best quarterback in the NFL,” said defensive back Alijah Clark. “I told the scouts over there, ‘You better hurry up and draft him. That’s going to help your job. They’re going to think you know something.’”

Clark envisions McCord will rise from a Day 2 prospect to becoming a bonafide franchise quarterback. But it only matters what NFL teams think of McCord’s trajectory.

McCord said at the NFL Combine that he spoke to 24 teams throughout the weekend in Indianapolis. He revealed Monday that “a bunch” more clubs have reached out since to schedule Zooms, in-person meetings and private workouts. By now, McCord’s talked to “probably everybody.” He said he’s been pleased with the relationships he’s formed inside the league.

McCord has received all kinds of feedback from various teams he’s talked to and is trying to focus on his conversations with coaches and executives to further prepare himself for the jump from college. Since McCord is highly critical of himself, he said, nothing he’s heard from NFL personnel has been a surprise thus far.

I believe they call this the “Zach Wilson throw.”

Here’s Kyle McCord’s try at it during his pro day performance. @DOsports pic.twitter.com/s7gRetlAXs

— Cooper Andrews (@cooper_andrews) March 17, 2025

It’s clear the Second-Team All-ACC quarterback is garnering significant interest; ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. currently has McCord at No. 6 on his Big Board. But McCord didn’t reveal any particular organizations or situations that intrigue him, saying that NFL teams keep all big-picture thoughts in-house.

McCord knows this is nothing like college, where you can pick your situation. He’ll be happy anywhere he goes. For now, all he hears are rumors, which he prefers to keep confidential.

“I mean, my mom loves to hear about it,” McCord quipped. “(There’s) just a new team every day that I’m talking to.”

Monday was McCord’s final mass showing in front of NFL teams before next month’s draft. He previously participated in January’s East-West Shrine Bowl and worked out at the NFL Combine on March 1. At his Pro Day, the traits that put McCord in the conversation for 2025’s top rookie signal-caller not named Cam Ward or Shedeur Sanders were on full display.

McCord only threw and opted not to run or bench press, both of which he did at the combine. He began the afternoon looking calm and collected, tossing quick hitters to Oronde Gadsden II, LeQuint Allen Jr., Maximilian Mang, Meeks and Trebor Peña — the lone pass-catcher returning to SU next year. McCord excelled at every mainstay NFL short route and concepts: slants, flats, spacing concepts, shallow-cross patterns and more.

The quarterback showed off his arm talent in the intermediate and deep game, highlighted by a moon ball that fell swiftly into Peña’s lap and an on-the-move, cross-body strike to Gadsden across the middle. He led his receivers well on throws near the sideline and didn’t miss a deep ball on reps where his feet were set.

Quarterback consultant Jordan Palmer (middle) ran SU’s offensive workout at its Pro Day. Palmer has trained NFL quarterbacks including Josh Allen, Joe Burrow and Sam Darnold. Leonardo Eriman | Asst. Video Editor

Following his workout, McCord said he was content with how he performed. His goal was to show he could make every throw, and he thinks he accomplished that. He was mostly thrilled to get one last time out on the field with his NFL-hopeful SU teammates.

As for his draft outlook, McCord believes the proof lies in the film. He thinks he stacks among the draft classes best. “Watch the tape,” he said emphatically. Performances in pre-draft events like SU’s Pro Day don’t sway his feelings too much.

“I’m training to be an NFL quarterback. I’m not training to look good at my Pro Day,” McCord said. “That was really the one thing that I tried to keep in front of my mind the entire time, is that as much as it’s about getting ready for the different phases, it’s just about getting ready to play quarterback in the NFL.”

Regardless, McCord looked sharp at his Pro Day. He didn’t give scouts any reasons to pick his game apart. At his peak, McCord’s mold is the quintessential pocket-passing, intelligent game manager. Meeks said he possesses sneaky speed, too. McCord’s skills bode well to succeed in the NFL — Monday was the latest example.

“Brady went sixth round. Kyle isn’t going to drop that far but, man, he anticipates throws, he can make every throw, he has every arm angle,” Meeks said of McCord. “There’s stuff you coach and stuff you don’t. Kyle just has it, man.”

It’s a foregone conclusion McCord will be drafted as a second-stringer in just a little over a month. The backup quarterback market never fades away, so he’s in play for every NFL franchise.

McCord will likely be thrust into a similar situation as he was at Ohio State: stuck behind an established quarterback. He learned from Houston Texans signal-caller CJ Stroud while with the Buckeyes, watching 2023’s No. 2 overall pick lead OSU to a College Football Playoff appearance.

He said playing behind Stroud was the best thing that could’ve happened to him. McCord often picked Stroud’s brain, which set the foundation for McCord’s growth in college. It now seems the story will repeat itself in the NFL starting in April.

“I think that whole process, sitting behind him for two years, is going to help me regardless of whatever situation I step into, whether it’s being the backup or being the starter, competing for the starting job, whatever the case may be,” McCord said. “It’s not something I haven’t already went through.”

Published on March 17, 2025 at 8:15 pm
Contact Cooper at: ccandrew@syr.edu | @cooper_andrews