Skip to main content

WATCH: Ian Rapoport declares Anthony Richardson the 'story' of 2023 NFL Combine

by:Austin Brezina03/05/23

AustinBrezina59

ian-rapoport-declares-florida-quarterback-anthony-richardson-story-of-2023-nfl-combine
Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images

According to ESPN’s Ian Rapoport, Anthony Richardson is the clear-cut most interesting player around the league after his NFL Combine showing. The Florida star used the combine as a perfect opportunity to show off his incredible physical skillset — pushing him into the top-ten overall draft pick conversation in Rapoport’s estimation.

Ian Rapoport explains Anthony Richardson’s incredible draft rise

“One of the bigger stories coming out of this combine has been the rise of Anthony Richardson, the Florida quarterback. I think we all knew, anyone who watched him knew, that he is someone just based on his skills [and] athleticism would blow up the combine,” explained Rapoport on Sunday.

“I’m not even sure I realized just how much of a difference it would make. I’ve been out seemingly every night, been talking to a lot of people. General managers, scouts, head coaches… Anthony Richardson has probably been the most talked about player here.

“But the fact that we are now talking about Anthony Richardson possibly going all the way into the top ten, especially with some uneven moments at Florida has really been fascinating.”

Richardson had a phenomenal showing on Saturday, setting a pair of NFL Combine records for quarterbacks and impressing in almost every area. He weighed in at 6’4″ and 244 pounds, and ran a 4.44 40-yard dash time with the unofficial recordings. In the vertical jump, he posted a record 40.5″ jump and posted a record 10’9″ mark in the broad jump — both records for the quarterback position.

Rapoport then concluded his breakdown of Richardson’s buzz around the league by mentioning an NFL star comparison. According to Rapoport, questions about Richardson’s accuracy and performance at Florida were being evaluated as similar to another quarterback that broke free of those questions — Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

“The story of the combine has certainly been the Florida quarterback.”