ASU QB Sam Leavitt Shows Promise

I vacillated between a first and a fifth-round grade in my mind while studying ASU quarterback (QB) Sam Leavitt on his 2024 game film. No question, he had some elite moments which got my hopes up, but then he kept reminding me he has a ways to go when it comes to projecting him to the NFL.

His confidence level and rocket right arm captured my imagination. From time to time, he even flashed the ability to toy with defenders.

“Intriguing.”

That’s the word I would begin with if I were sitting in an NFL college scouting department, and it came my turn to talk about him.

There’s enough there that I want to circle back and study his 2025 game film.

Despite playing in a run-first and run-heavy offense that put Leavitt in some predictable passing situations, he still managed to produce respectable numbers.

• 216 completions
• 350 attempts
• 61.7%
• 2,885 yards
• 24 touchdowns
• 6 interceptions

And when I say run heavy, I mean run heavy.

It’s an offensive scheme that featured 2025 New York Giants fourth-round running back Cam Skattebo, who had the third-highest number of NCAA carries in 2024 (293).

What are the best things about Leavitt?

Outside of the two aforementioned traits that stood out most ⎯

• Decent reading defenses
• Mobile
• Ability to create
• Downfield aggressiveness with his throws
• Fearless as a leader

What is Leavitt’s biggest weakness?

He tends to be too hesitant to throw the football.

That truth not only showed up on his game film, but it was also confirmed by Pro Football Focus, Leavitt’s time to throw number in 2024:

3.04 seconds

TOO SLOW BY NFL STANDARDS

In 2024, per Next Gen Stats, NFL QBs averaged between 2.42 and 3.14 seconds (with only four QBs timed at three seconds or slower).

It’s also important to keep in mind that Leavitt’s time to throw number is by college football standards. The NFL is only faster and more complex.

What does holding the ball this long cause?

It’s part of the reason why Leavitt was forced into running the football 110 times in 2024. Being late throwing also caused him to throw 16 pass breakups (PBUs) in these nine games (1.77 avg.).

NFL crystal ball

As I’ve pointed out, Leavitt has some of the tools needed to possibly develop into an NFL starter.

What are the biggest signs of optimism?

There were enough examples on film when Leavitt showed he could get the ball out of his hand on time. It wasn’t often enough to show up in the grade (yet), but he still showed he was capable of it from a developmental standpoint.

He also showed he could do things like this:

#10 Sam Leavitt 6-foot-2, 200 pounds

Daniel Kelly’s 2025 Summer Grade: Third-Round (I would select him)

Projected by 23.8% of the NFL Draft Community to be a first-round pick as of June 11, 2025 (nflmockdraftdatabase.com)

2024 game film evaluated: Wyoming, Texas State, Texas Tech, Utah, Kansas State, BYU, Arizona, Iowa State, and Texas (click to view games watched to form this evaluation)

Injury risk: Moderate

Rib injury vs. Utah

2026 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Competitive, athletic, and energetic prospect. Spring in his step. Tends to pat the ball pre-delivery. Shows ability to move off his first read to his second read about half the time. Fluid and smooth thrower. Strong whip. Depends too much on arm strength and not enough on lower-body throwing mechanics, which causes inaccuracies and the ball to sail on him at times. However, when he misses, it’s generally not by much. Capable of layering passes behind defenders. Average pocket awareness and pocket depth perception when facing the pass rush (got hit too many times when throwing). 19 sacks per ESPN. Decent off-platform. Decent placement. Has some improv to his game. Capable of picking up chunks of yardage running, but absorbs too much contact. Deep ball accuracy 15/39 (38.5%).

What to watch for during the 2025 college football season

1. Is he getting the ball out of his hand on time?

2. Does he consistently seem aware of the pass rush?

3. Deep ball accuracy?

Daniel Kelly is a former NFL Scout with the New York Jets. He was hired on the regime which featured Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Scott Pioli, Mike Tannenbaum, and Dick Haley. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief for First Round Mock, and has written for Sports Illustrated (Lions, Jets, and 49ers), NFL Draft Diamonds, and Yardbarker, as well as a featured guest on ESPN Radio and Fox Sports Radio. For more information about him visit his website at whateverittakesbook.com. Follow on Twitter @firstroundmock.