Ravens draft Kentucky quarterback late in sixth round

The Ravens are bringing in an extra arm at the back end of the sixth round, drafting Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary, marking the 10th passer taken in the 2024 NFL Draft. Leary adds a big arm to a quarterback room in Baltimore that contains reigning MVP Lamar Jackson.

Leary spent six years at the collegiate level, playing the first five years at NC State. He took over as the Wolfpack’s starter halfway through his redshirt freshman season in Raleigh and, after missing the final seven games of the next year, finally got his first full season as a redshirt junior in 2021. He threw for 3,433 yards and 35 touchdowns with only five interceptions, breaking Philip Rivers‘ school record for most touchdown passes in a season.

After once again missing over half the season with an injury as a redshirt senior, Leary opted to hit the transfer portal for his final year of college eligibility, making his way to Kentucky. In his lone season with the Wildcats, Leary completed only 56.3 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for 2,746 yards, 25 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions. He can make throws at every level of the field but will need to learn some touch at the NFL level. His strong arm can cost him accuracy and catchable balls at times.

In Baltimore, Leary faces an uphill battle to dress on gamedays. Obviously, he stands no chance at unseating Jackson as the starter, but even current backup quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Malik Cunningham sit pretty comfortably at their spots on the depth chart. At 38 years old, Johnson is one of the league’s most experienced backup passers and already has experience starting a game for the Ravens in place of Jackson.

Cunningham, on the other hand, only has a one-year head start on Leary, but benefits from the fact that his style of play matches Jackson’s much better. Cunningham came to Louisville in Jackson’s last collegiate season, taking over as the starter two years later. His nearly 10,000 passing yards and over 3,000 rushing yards at the collegiate level show just how similar his game is to Jackson’s.

Entering his rookie year at 25 years old, though, Leary will want to try to unseat Cunningham as QB3 for the Ravens. If he can secure that role, Leary will likely end up as a practice squad passer who will often get called up as a standard gameday practice squad elevation.