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**INDIANAPOLIS** **–** These are the boots on the ground identifiers of the draft talent and the character.
It’s time for our annual summer series where we look back on the Colts draft picks in 2025, via the scouts.
Here are the Colts scouts on 6th round pick Riley Leonard:
The Colts are betting on the traits with Riley Lenoard.
It sounds a bit odd to say a quarterback who helped lead his team to the National Title game would be a developmental guy at the next level, but that’s the case with the Notre Dame quarterback.
There’s a reason why a player as tough as Leonard, as strong of a leader as Leonard, as gifted as a runner as Leonard, a player built like Leonard, lasts until pick No. 189.
The Colts know this, but they like the qualities he offers to try and develop as a thrower, which was something clearly needing work during spring practice.
“He’s got the physical ability to be much more than a No. 3 (quarterback),” Colts area scout Mike Lacy says. “I think that’s kind of what he’s going to be coming in as. He’s going to find his way. He’s going to learn, be a sponge, soak things up and be ready to go. We’re excited about what he can be, that’s for sure.”
It will be interesting to see how the Colts handle Leonard once training camp arrives.
With Anthony Richardson missing 7 of the 9 team practices this spring, Leonard actually took a pretty consistent amount of second-team reps behind Daniel Jones.
[**And while the Colts did bring veteran Desmond Ridder in as a tryout player for the team’s June minicamp**](https://1075thefan.com/586005/observations-form-colts-third-minicamp-practice-of-2025/), the team reps still mostly went to Jones and Leonard, with Jason Bean (undrafted in 2024) sprinkled in. Ridder remains unsigned with training camp starting later this month.
Given the need for Leonard to take major strides in playing from the pocket, it’s hard to imagine the Colts would have him even be the backup for a regular season game, if such a situation arose this fall.
But the idea here with the selection isn’t so much for 2025, but more believing that there’s something more to tap into with a player who stands for so much of what the Colts want at the most important position in sports.
As Notre Dame made their run to the National Title game, the Colts were clearly drawn to Leonard.
One more March look at Leonard, more so in an NFL throwing mode, offered some additional Colts intrigue.
“He played his best ball down the stretch as well, but I think seeing him one last time, at his Pro Day, watching him in-person, kind of polished-up mechanically, seeing him live, seeing his arm strength, what he has to offer physically,” Lacy says. “I think that definitely kind of put the stamp on him as a player.