INDIANAPOLIS -- Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson arrived at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine as one of the draft's most intriguing prospects, and he made history during his workout at the event on Saturday.
Richardson set a modern combine record for quarterbacks with a 40 1/2-inch vertical jump (best since at least 2003). Also, Richardson posted a broad jump of 10-foot-9, tying Arkansas' Matt Jones for the best mark in the event by a combine QB since at least '03. Later during Saturday's events at Lucas Oil Stadium, Richardson ran a 4.43-second 40-yard dash, which places the former Gator fourth among QBs who have run the 40 at the combine since '03.
The folks at NFL Research helped put the stunning display of athleticism in context:
NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah ranks Richardson as the No. 14 overall prospect in this year's draft. Richardson said at his Friday press conference that he models his game after Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson. With a showing like Saturday's, it appears the work of patterning himself after those former MVPs is paying off. In fact, he outperformed Newton in the jumps at a similar size to Newton's back in 2011.
After Saturday, we'd expect the discussions of where he might land in the draft to only increase.
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