Getty Former Duke QB Riley Leonard reacting after a college football game.
It’s never too early to start peaking ahead.
With that thought in mind, Matt Miller of ESPN revealed his early 2025 first-round NFL mock draft prediction on Tuesday, July 2. With the No. 20 overall pick in the opening round, he had the New York Jets selecting Notre Dame quarterback Riley Leonard.
“Aaron Rodgers is turning 41 years old this season and will be coming off a torn Achilles. Sure, he might play several more seasons, but the Jets still have to think long-term about the roster. That means being prepared for his eventual exit,” Miller explained. “Leonard, a transfer from Duke, has been talked about by scouts for two seasons as a potential first-rounder. He played in seven games last season, missing time with ankle and toe injuries, and he struggled with just three touchdown passes and three interceptions. But the accuracy, mobility, and decision-making he showed in 2022 have scouts believing he’s ready to break out in a new scheme.”
The draft order was determined by ESPN’s FPI [Football Power Index], “which uses thousands of simulations to predict the 2024 NFL season.”
Jets Still Don’t Have a Long-Term Answer at the QB Position
The Jets boast the oldest quarterback room in the NFL. Rodgers is 40 and he will turn 41 in December. Tyrod Taylor, the Jets’ primary backup quarterback, is 34 but he will turn 35 in August.
In addition to those top two players on the depth chart, the Jets took a dart throw with the No. 171 overall pick in the fifth round of April’s draft by taking Jordan Travis out of Florida State.
Travis is coming off of a severe leg injury in college and it’s unclear exactly when he will be ready to return to full football activities. Travis is already 24 years of age because of his long winding road to the pros.
NFL draft analyst Lance Zierlein projects him as an “average” backup quarterback in the league. If that is what he ultimately became, the green and white would be thrilled.
There is a chance he could develop into something more but you truly never know.
Leonard Could Be an Interesting Name to Watch for the Jets
Former NFL general manager Randy Mueller told me on “Boy Green Daily” that this Jets team ahead of 2024 is the most “all in” team he has seen in the last 40 years.
This team is solely focused on doing everything within its own powers to win the Super Bowl in 2024.
However, a general manager’s job is to have one foot in the present and one foot in the future. If we’re being honest, the Jets don’t have a legitimate young quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Leonard, 21, is listed at 6-foot-4 and tips the scales at 216 pounds according to Notre Dame’s official online roster sheet.
He showed flashes during his three years at Duke, although his best season came in 2022. Riley threw for 2,967 passing yards, had a 20 touchdown to 6 interception ratio, and completed 63.8% of his passes.
Riley will have a chance to recapture some of that magic at a much more prominent football power house with the Irish. If so he could be on the Jets’ radar at the backend of the first round in 2025.
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