The Eagles drafted Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord in the sixth round (No. 181) on Saturday afternoon.
McCord, 22, is a South Jersey native (Mt. Laurel), who went to St. Joseph’s Prep before going to Ohio State and then Syracuse. McCord was teammates with Eagles linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. in high school. McCord led the Prep to three consecutive state championships.
After leaving the Prep, McCord enrolled at Ohio State and ended up starting for the Buckeyes in 2023 before entering the transfer portal and finishing up his college career at Syracuse in 2024.
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SIGN UP HERE “It has been a little bit of a wild ride,” McCord said at the Combine. “St. Joe's, had a lot of success there, been around a lot of great people. And then went to Ohio State, same story, had a lot of fun and around a lot of great people, got coached by some great coaches. And then to go into the portal, one year at Syracuse, and to have the year that we had, it was a lot of fun. And so being here right now, it's a little surreal. It was a dream growing up, and so just trying to soak it all in.”
McCord (6-3, 218) decided to transfer out of Ohio State instead of entering a quarterback competition. He then had a strong season at Syracuse to finish out his college career in 2024.
Here’s a look at his final two college seasons, one as a starter at Ohio State, one as a starter at Syracuse:
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2023 at Ohio State: 65.8%, 3,170 yards, 24 TDs, 6 INTs
2024 at Syracuse: 66%, 4,779 yards, 34 TDs, 12 INTs
“I knew regardless of if I was at Ohio State or Syracuse, I was going to make a big jump from Year 1 to Year 2 (as a starter),” McCord said at the Combine. “I was very confident in that. And so I think having a year of experience starting at Ohio State under my belt, I don't think you can get much more prepared than that. I mean, that's a great experience.
“And so just using that and learning from it, I was super critical watching myself from Ohio State and attacking the areas that I need to improve upon and just the success that I had last year really wasn't a surprise to me. So just what I went through at Ohio State and then just using all that to help me out at Syracuse.”
In Philadelphia, McCord will enter a quarterback room that includes Jalen Hurts, Tanner McKee and Dorian Thompson-Robinson. The Eagles also have a new quarterbacks coach in former Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler.
McCord was ranked as the No. 138-best overall prospect in this class by NFL Network’s Daniel Jeremiah. He ended up being the sixth quarterback selected in this class after Cam Ward, Jaxson Dart, Tyler Shough, Jalen Milroe, Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders.
In the fifth round, the Browns traded up to pick 144 just in front of the Eagles at 145 to select Sanders. That left the impression that the Browns were worried the Eagles were going to select the sliding quarterback.