Besides Bryce Young, the top quarterback prospects like C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson, and Will Levis took to the field Saturday at the 2023 NFL Combine to showcase not just their athletic gifts but their passing proficiency in front of scouts, TV cameras, and thousands of fans inside Lucas Oil Stadium. They did not disappoint.
Richardson did things we’ve never seen before at the position, Stroud was super accurate, and Levis was the most impressive thrower in the first group of passers. Georgia’s Stetson Bennett wanted to remind everyone, once again, to not forget about him.
Let’s grade their performances while assigning winners and losers from a blast of an afternoon observing a fascinating quarterback group workout in Indianapolis.
Winners
Well, obviiiiously. Setting combine records at the quarterback position will get you an “A” every time, and Richardson did so in the vertical and broad jump at a ridiculously thick 244 pounds. The 4.43 in the 40 was phenomenal, too. Throwing the ball, the velocity was apparent and the three 60-yard bombs in the final drill of the afternoon for the quarterbacks were all gorgeous. Only a few misses in the intermediate route drills kept this from being an A+. The backflip to end the day was a fitting exclamation mark. Richardson is the most athletic — and one of the largest — quarterbacks we’ve seen at the combine.
Grading on a curve here with Stroud, because we only saw him on the field throwing the football, which everyone agrees is where he thrives. It’s the athleticism we wanted to see, but the Ohio State stud (probably smartly) decided not to do any of the athletic testing.
On the field, throwing the ball, Stroud was surgical. I only noticed one clear-cut miss on a deep corner route, and his effortless stroke was so graceful. The ball jumped out of his hands, too. I feel Stroud has deceptive arm strength. Stroud’s first long-ball throw was well underthrown. The next two were dimes.
No one was expecting Bennett to be ridiculously slow, but his 4.67 official was an impressive time. Throwing the ball, Bennett was clearly comfortable all afternoon, throwing with pinpoint ball placement and demonstrating surprising throwing power, especially on the long balls that were all gorgeous.
Bennett continues to beat the odds and feels like a quarterback who will hear his name called on draft weekend. Might even be earlier…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CBSSports.com Headlines…