The college football landscape has drastically changed since the addition of the transfer portal, and the NFL Draft has been impacted as a result. Now, we see tons of first round quarterbacks like Caleb Williams, Joe Burrow, Jayden Daniels, Michael Penix Jr., Bo Nix, and more reaching new heights with a second team before coming to the NFL. Could former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard find that same success this season with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish?

Leonard is not the only quarterback to find a new team. Many of them, however, are not 2025 NFL Draft-eligible yet though. Young talents like Aidan Chiles (now at Michigan State), Dante Moore (now at Oregon), Malachi Nelson (now at Boise State), and more fit this bill. However, there are plenty of older quarterbacks who do fit the mold of a player who could be drafted higher this upcoming April because of their fit with their new team.

Who are they? Here are the top-five draft-eligible quarterbacks who could see their draft stock impacted the most because of their landing spot out of the transfer portal:

We have to parse two things out here: 1. The success a player can have at the college level, and 2. Whether or not that quarterback has translatable NFL traits. And for Central Florida to Oklahoma to Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, he leads the nation in Heisman odds but does not have the traits to be an NFL quarterback.

Starting with him being sub-6-foot in stature.

I am totally here for us to celebrate the great season Gabriel is set to have with the Ducks, who resurrected the career of Bo Nix and got him drafted in the first round this past year. However, success at the college level does not equal NFL traits or translation. Just appreciate what we have without going overboard here.

This one will probably raise some eyebrows.

However, there is too much on the tape of Cameron Ward, no matter how talented his arm might be, that raise red flags about his ability to translate to the NFL. The biggest concern revolves around his inability to hang in a clean pocket and trust his protection. Far too often is Ward running into his own sacks and creating his own pressure by bailing from a pocket that is far from compromised.

If Ward wants to take a huge step forward (and Mario Cristobal isn’t exactly known for getting that out of quarterbacks), then he has to show he can stand in and make throws even if he does feel a sense of insecurity.

Another massive red flag is his tendency to put the ball in harm’s way. Take your eye off of the generic interception number from a year ago, which was just seven on the year, and take a look at all of the times the ball should have been turned over because of a lack of ball security.

Of all quarterbacks with at least 350 throws a year ago, Ward falls in the top 30 in Turnover Worthy Plays (according to PFF). He was also in the top 10 in Pressure to Sack percentage, taking way more losses than he needs to. Then with the ball in his hands as a runner, Ward is wreckless. He has fumbled the football a massive 46 times in his career, including 14 in 2023. This was the fourth-most of any non-quarterback in the nation a year ago.

The talent is evident, but unfortunately so are the unforced errors.

D.J. Uiagalelei has had a wild ride through the college football ranks. He started out as a freshman phenom after he stepped in for an injured Trevor Lawrence to win games for the Clemson Tigers. Then he bottomed out in 2021. And then found some footing in 2022 but was ultimately pushed off the roster by Cade Klubnik.

He then transferred to Oregon State where his production was extremely similar to that of his Junior season at Clemson. Then Oregon State got left out of the Big 12/ACC mergers after the PAC-12 bottomed out. So Uiagalelei hit the portal again and has landed with Mike Norvell and the Florida State Seminoles, which is one of his better fits in the portal.

He’s got the body type and arm, but there is a reason that Uiagalelei is no longer seen as a first round talent. But he still has NFL tools, and that can carry a prospect. There is no shame in being a career-long spot starter and backup at the NFL level. Guys like Case Keenum, Chase Daniels, Jacoby Brissett, Ryan Fitzpatrick, and more made a living out of it.

I see a similar path for Uiagalelei.

Ohio Sate kicked Kyle McCord to the curb after a lackluster season and brought in the former Kansas State Wildcat Will Howard. Head coach Ryan Day stated that he needs a quarterback who can run moving forward, and Howard checked that box a year ago, hitting over 300 yard and nine touchdowns on the ground on just 81 carries.

And like Daniels a year ago, Howard will have the talent around him to throw to. They do not call Ohio State WRU for nothing. While Emeka Egbuka is the only real established talent in the wide receiver room, they always have a young player step up. They have a flurry of five stars to choose from in that regard this year.

This is the most talented roster in college football, and Howard must benefit from that. While a first round grade would still be steep from Howard even if he does, he could emerge as that Day 2 pick at the quarterback position that gets taken every year. Besides, Ohio State’s offense is known as being dense in NFL concepts, so his transition even to a backup role at the next level is very visible.

Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock was partially responsible for the emergence of Jayden Daniels. And now the talented former Duke quarterback Riley Leonard has a chance to be his next benefactor.

Leonard entered last season with first round hype, but the constraints of his offense at Duke combined with a year of injuries derailed his 2023 campaign. Now with Notre Dame and with an offensive coordinator who is more than happy to throw the football down the field (which was completely absent from his Duke tape), Leonard is an obvious candidate to take a massive leap.

He can make plays with both his arm and his legs, and while Notre Dame doesn’t have the wide receivers that Denbrock and Daniels had at LSU a year ago, plays will be there to be made. If Leonard and Denbrock click the way they should on paper, Leonard is going to find himself back in first round conversations.

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