2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report: Louisville CB Quincy Riley

From now until the 2025 NFL Draft, we will scout and create profiles for as many prospects as possible, examining their strengths, weaknesses, and what they can bring to an NFL franchise. These players could be potential top 10 picks, down to Day 3 selections, and priority undrafted free agents. Today, a scouting report on Louisville CB Quincy Riley.

#3 QUINCY RILEY/CB LOUISVILLE – 5103, 192 POUNDS. (RS SENIOR)

Senior Bowl

MEASUREMENTS

THE GOOD

– Competitive nature translates in coverage and run defense
– Irritating in a good way vs. receivers in press or off-man coverage
– Lots of experience playing in multiple schemes and coverages
– Elite ability to know when to jump routes and make plays on the ball
– Very physical and disruptive at the catch point
– Excellent route recognition and knows how to force quarterbacks into tight windows
– Suffocates space when operating on a vertical plane
– Reads quarterback’s eyes well to know when to break on the ball and where to find depth
– Constantly rakes receiver’s hands to alter catch chances
– Tough, face-up tackler who comes downhill in a hurry
– Tackles well in the open field and doesn’t allow much YAC
– Durable player, having only missed 2 games in 6 years due to injury
– Special teams value as a decent punt returner

THE BAD

– Lacks height and length to win above the rim against taller, physical receivers
– Needs better foot patience to mirror quick releases/routes
– Can be overaggressive to make breaks too soon on the ball
– Takes time to flip hips into sprinting
– Requires better eye balance from off-man coverage
– Slight stall in his plant-and-drive ability
– Hopping into his breaks allows separation on short routes
– Struggles to wrap ball carriers when tackling
– Consistently driving through the tackles and not coming off the ground to launch himself
– Six years in college and recent injury this season
– May be close to his ceiling being 24 yrs. old at the start of the new season 

BIO

– Born 05/26/2001 (23 years old) out of Columbia, SC
– 2,720 total snaps (2,455 outside CB, 127 slot CB, 120 safety)
– 281 special teams snaps (152 FG block, 69 punt return, 29 kick return, 19 punt coverage, 12 kick coverage)
– Appeared in 55 games with 36 starts between Louisville and Middle Tennessee University (6 years)
– Career: 160 tackles (142 solo), 11.5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 15 INTs, 40 PBUs, 37 missed tackles, 11 penalties, 1 FF, 1 INT touchdown, 50.4 passer rating allowed, 45.8 comp. rate against
– 2024-25 season (10 games): 33 total tackles, 3 TFL’s, 2 INT’s, 13 PD’s, 48.5 comp. rate against, 73.5 passer rating against, 2 penalties
– Played through an ankle injury that caused him to miss 2 games
– 2024 Second-Team All-ACC
– 2023 All-ACC Honorable Mention
– 2022 Transferred from Middle Tennessee to Louisville
– 2021 First-Team All-Conference USA
– 2020 Conference USA All-Freshman Team
– 2019 3-star prospect by 247 Sports in HS
– Earned all-state and all-region honors in track while also being named the team’s MVP
– South Carolina Boys 4A Track Player of the Year
– Played football, basketball, and track at A.C. Flora
– Cornerback, wide receiver, and special teams returner in HS
– Majored in fashion design

TAPE BREAKDOWN

Quincy Riley is a very interesting cornerback prospect in the upcoming draft out of Louisville University, where he played the last 3 seasons after transferring from Middle Tennessee University previously for 3 years. He’s a smart, instinctual guy who plays physical in all aspects of his game. His ball skills and intelligence are fully displayed in off-man or zone coverage. Riley has adequate size and length for an outside cornerback but shows good athleticism and speed to keep up with all types of receivers. He struggled a little more this past season, but he was also playing through an ankle injury that kept him out of 2 games, so it’s hard to know how much that impacted his abilities.

When studying him in zone coverage, the guy has a nose for the football. He’s constantly finding the right angles, leveraging and getting proper depth in coverage, and has great visual tracking skills when the ball is in the air to make a play on it.

He frequently disrupts receivers at the catch point and does a great job coming through their hands and getting his head around. Previously, in college, he struggled being too grabby, racking up a lot of silly penalties. Riley tries to read the quarterback and anticipate routes a lot to position himself to make plays on the ball. He’s very disciplined in his assignments but can come downhill very quickly to close the gap and not allow catches or breathing room after the catch.

What he lacks in size, he makes up for in tenacity and effort to play in the short area of the field. Sometimes, he takes too many chances to make plays on the ball and can get beat by being too aggressive too soon. Riley also has difficulty adjusting to other assignments if he’s playing one part of the field and can get caught off-guard with improvised routes.

Man coverage is where he shines brightest. He can use his exceptional ball skills, straight-line speed from his track background, physicality at the catch point, and fluid hips to mirror guys off the line.

He has good foot speed and twitch to quickly come in and out of his breaks. Riley can flip his hips and make plays on the ball, but there were times when watching him when he needed to do a better job of keeping his feet on the ground coming out of transitions. This caused receivers to gain too much separation. He does a great job of coming up through the arms of the receiver or breaking at the last second to make a play on the ball. His timing to break on routes is very good, and he can make up ground well when necessary. His experience in various coverages adds to his appeal, and his route awareness is good, knowing where to go and being ahead of schedule.

He struggled more in man coverage this year, giving up longer plays and allowing run-after-catch opportunities. It’s difficult to tell how much his injury affected his play, but he also showed difficulty tracking and keeping up with deep balls this past season.

He’s an inconsistent run defender due to his tackling technique of not fully wrapping guys up, often playing out on the boundary, and not driving through the tackle. He shows good effort and desire to get in on the action but isn’t as adept at understanding gap integrity and predicting running lanes as he is in coverage awareness. He could also benefit from getting stronger to help his wrapping. There were times when it was noticeable that he didn’t have the strength to consistently hold on to tackles or shed blockers. He tends to go for big hits frequently, like the one below:

If he improves these things, he can be a solid defender in this area for his position because he has the desire not to back down. Riley also offers special teams experience and did have a nice punt return this past season. He showed good awareness of running lanes, manipulating blockers, and planning his cutbacks. He didn’t get a chance to show his jets on returns, but he has the ability to build up significant speed if he’s given the runway.

CONCLUSION

Riley is a feisty cornerback with a wealth of experience to play in multiple schemes at the NFL level. His ability to excel in man or zone coverage affords defensive coordinators the flexibility to deploy him in multiple ways in the slot, zone, or on the boundary. He can play in either a Cover 1 or Cover 3 scheme based on his traits and experience. Riley needs to work on being more disciplined with his footwork when transitioning in his breaks, understanding run defense principles, better tackling consistency, and knowing when to gamble on balls in the air.

Ronald Darby is a player that Riley profiles similarly to who’s had a nice career in the NFL. Riley has plus athleticism, physicality, and ball production that can be a solid starting cornerback in the NFL, but just doesn’t have the elite size and length. When considering the Pittsburgh Steelers, he should garner their interest based on his experience, ability to make plays on the ball, his playing style, and the fact that they saw him up close and personal at the Senior Bowl, where he played well against good competition.

Projection: Day 2
Depot Draft Grade: 7.9 – 3rd Round (Potential Starter/Good Backup)
Games Watched: at Clemson (2024), vs. Pittsburgh (2024), vs Notre Dame (2023), at Florida State (2023)