Here’s the latest 2023 NFL mock draft from Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire, who linked the New Orleans Saints to another quarterback in the second round: this time, it’s North Carolina State passer Devin Leary. Easterling projects five quarterbacks to go in the first round, with Leary one of three signal-callers going off the board in round two. So what’s his story?
Leary, who turns 23 in September, was recently named the ACC preseason player of the year after a huge 2021 campaign, in which he broke Philip Rivers’ school record for single-season touchdown passes (throwing 35 of them). After taking a redshirt in 2018 and starting eight games in 2019, his 2020 season was cut short by a broken leg. So he surprised a lot of people by stepping up in a big way last year — doubling his career passing numbers by going 283-of-431 (65.7%) for 3,433 yards with just five interceptions against those 35 touchdown passes. He added two more scores as a runner.
Now he’s got the program humming along in pursuit of a conference title, with the school pushing for Heisman Trophy consideration for him. It’s pretty impressive, but can he build enough momentum in 2022 to earn a high draft pick in the following spring? We’ll just have to watch and see.
