Former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson checked in at 6’4 and weighs 244 pounds. Saturday at the NFL Combine. Richardson’s hand size was 10 1/2 inches, one of the largest in the league at that position. Hand size is often related to the likelihood of fumbling as a quarterback if he is on the smaller side of the range.
As for Richardson, he seems to have measurable Hulk-like stats that will get him into the first round, potentially as a top 10 pick.
The SEC’s talent as a quarterback ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft needs no buffer – this could be the record-breaking group for first-round potential this cycle. Only twice has the College Football Super League selected two first-round quarterbacks in the same draft—in 2020 and 1952—and the conference has a chance to turn that around. three or more in a couple of weeks according to layout drawings.
Bryce Young from Alabama is the league’s most recognizable prospect, but he’s not the only prospective Day 1 prospect. Richardson is a strong passer and Kentucky Will Lewis watched his meteoric rise go supernova last spring when NFL officials were able to see him dropping up close.
Lewis and Richardson starred at Manning Passing Academy last summer and now once underestimated prospects are two of the highest ranked players in their positions nationally.
Richardson is more of an enigma, an avenue that checks out all the notorious boxes for the NFL prototype. Controlled chaos is what Florida tried to perfect last season with a new assistant Rob Sale cope with Richardson’s ability, but the quarterback was fickle as a passer throughout the campaign.
At Florida, Richardson struggled with accuracy issues and completed just 53.8% of his attempts for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns against nine interceptions. On Friday, a reporter asked Richardson during his NFL Combine press conference how he handles accuracy issues in team interviews.
“I can definitely serve the ball better and help my guys,” Richardson said. “But I also can’t catch every transmission. If I could, I would definitely. I just help the guys and help the guys help me. My completion percentage, some people would say it’s low. I don’t think it’s great either, but he’s just growing as a quarterback. Not every year will be your best year. I definitely learned a lot last season.”
Richardson has a strong build and ran for 654 yards with nine touchdowns for the Gators last season. On Saturday, Richardson will run 40 yards and take other athleticism tests. The former Gainesville, Florida, 4-star Eastside rookie has only played 22 college football games, but in 2022, he’s had an eye-popping record against Utah and Tennessee.
Ranked 245th overall in the 2020 class and 36th in the state of Florida, Richardson chose the Gators over Power Five offerings from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. The 247Sports database doesn’t have a 40-yard run time from Richardson’s high school days, which means there’s some mystery left as to how fast he’ll run on Saturday.
Robbie Weinstein contributed to this report.
Source: 247sports.com
