NFL Draft film room: Kyle McCord the marksman

The Syracuse quarterback can some pinpoint accuracy

After getting cast away by Ohio State last offseason, Kyle McCord revived his 2025 NFL Draft stock by breaking several school records at Syracuse and becoming the ACC’s single-season passing leader.

McCord posted a 65.8 completion percentage for 4,760 yards and 34 touchdowns during his lone year with the Orange, which should put him on the Las Vegas Raiders’ radar as the Raiders look for a quarterback in this year’s draft. Those stats warrant a deeper dive, so let’s take a look at what the Syracuse product could potentially bring to Las Vegas.

Unlike other quarterbacks with similar numbers, McCord isn’t a quarterback who will consistently throw deep shots down the field. Instead, he wins with pinpoint accuracy on intermediate throws which was a big part of how he carved up Cal for 323 yards. He consistently puts the ball in the right spot, especially when targeting the middle of the field, to help beat coverage.

The third throw above is the best example of that. While the wide receiver does a good job of beating inside leverage on the dig route, the cornerback is still draped all over him at the catch point to be able to make a play on the ball. The latter leaves little margin for error on the throw and McCord delivers a perfect pass, hitting the receiver on the facemask to move the chains.

Building on the section above, McCord is also highly accurate when throwing slants to help lead his receivers for yards after the catch. His most productive passes were in the short (zero- to nine-yard) range, completing 77.8 percent of such attempts for 1,798 yards and 11 touchdowns, according to Pro Football Focus.

Not only does McCord consistently put the ball in front of his receivers to lead them up the field, but he’s also able to make adjustments based on the coverage.

In the first clip above, Miami blitzes the nickel corner and rolls the safety down. The Orangeman reads that and throws into the blitz by hitting the slot receiver on the slant. However, what’s unique about that pass is instead of putting the ball in front of the receiver, he throws it to the back shoulder to keep his wideout out of harm’s way or away from the safety.

Additionally, the ball placement puts the receiver in a position to spin out of the tackle and create an explosive play off a short throw.

Another way that McCord can beat defenses is by throwing with anticipation. He does a good job of recognizing pre-snap advantages and letting the ball go on time to help prevent defenders from making a play on the ball, which the last throw above highlights best.

Cal’s corner at the top of the screen is playing off coverage by about four yards initially and starts to bail even further right before the snap. Also, the slot defender stays inside the numbers, so the curl route by the outside receiver will be open.

Taking that information in, McCord starts his throwing motion before the receiver finishes his break. The cornerback does a decent job of breaking on the route but because the pass was perfectly on time, there’s nothing the corner can do and the offense moves the chains.

As referenced above, one of McCord’s biggest issues is below-average arm strength. What makes that problem worse is he also has a bad habit of starring down throws, especially with his first read. That could be a major issue in the NFL because if he can’t/doesn’t manipulate defenders with his eyes or rifle passes into tight windows, that combination is going to lead to interceptions at the next level.

So, the Raiders will have to decide if they work with McCord on his arm strength and teach him how to create bigger throwing windows. But it’s hard to deny that the Syracuse product isn’t a marksman and one of the most accurate passers in this year’s draft class.