Tag: 2023 NFL Scouting Combine

Anthony Richardson had ‘instant rapport’ with Seahawks coach Pete Carroll

There seems to be legitimate interest on both sides in this case.

The biggest star of the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine turned out to be Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson, who has become a popular mock draft pick for the Seattle Seahawks. Mel Kiper at ESPN is one of several analysts who have projected Richardson going to Seattle recently. It’s not just draft-season chatter, either. There seems to be legitimate interest on both sides in this case.

According to Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, Seattle was one of several teams picking in the top 10 who met with Richardson at the combine. Now ESPN is reporting that Richardson felt an “instant rapport” with head coach Pete Carroll.

https://twitter.com/PoonaStan/status/1632739007120433153?s=20

After his remarkable performance in Indy, the Seahawks will likely need to use their No. 5 overall pick to get Richardson.

It’s a worthy investment. While landing a blue-chip defensive piece like Will Anderson Jr. or Jalen Carter isn’t bad, quarterbacks are far more likely to deliver more value in the long run – no matter how great a defensive line prospect may turn out to be.

Richardson’s game is admittedly raw – especially as a passer. However, his athleticism may give him the highest ceiling in this class. With a season or two to develop behind Geno Smith, Richardson might be ready to start and thrive.

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Mike McDaniel had the best reaction to seeing himself on TV at the NFL combine

Yes, Mike McDaniel, that is indeed you!

By now, the Miami Dolphins’ Mike McDaniel has developed a reputation for having an off-beat personality. He’ll roast his own quarterback to his face. He’ll ask another QB nicely to stop gashing his team’s defense. He’ll even troll inclement weather with a t-shirt because that’s how you must approach an impending avalanche of snow.

With no meaningful games happening for a while, McDaniel still found a way to give us a laugh at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. (He wasn’t among the big winners, but he probably should’ve been.)

When the TV camera panned over to the Dolphins’ coach studying his notes, he noticed it. Before diving back into his studies, McDaniel seemed to amusingly say a light curse while pointing out that, yes, that’s him on camera:

How many other NFL coaches do you think would have the self-awareness to make a quick little joke like that before diving back into their Very Important Studies? One? Two? Maybe three?

No, sorry, I’m wrong. McDaniel might be the funniest pro football head coach right now, and he stands alone in this regard.

Jaguars 7-round mock draft: 9 potential targets post-NFL combine

The Jaguars have nine draft picks in the 2023 NFL Draft. Who should they be eying?

The on-field drills at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine are in the books, but determining how much they matter is a challenging exercise.

While there’s obvious value in seeing exactly how athletic prospects are (otherwise, why do the drills), it’s also a little silly to let anything other than game tape determine how players stack up.

With that in mind, it doesn’t quite feel right to make many changes to the first-round mock draft published last week.

Instead, here’s a Jacksonville Jaguars-centric mock draft with a guess at nine players the team could target with their selections in the 2023 NFL Draft:

How should the Commanders/Rivera feel about Florida QB Anthony Richardson?

The Commanders need help in 2023, and Anthony Richardson may not provide that.

Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson as expected, has tested extremely well, breaking some NFL Scouting Combine QB marks.

How should the Commanders feel about Richardson?

If you like SEC football and watched even just a few of the Florida Gators 2022 games, you most likely saw QB Anthony Richardson make some spectacular plays.

Consequently, for those who have seen many of Richardson’s games for Florida, it was absolutely not the slightest surprise to find Richardson at the scouting combine scoring the highest among quarterbacks in the 40, the vertical jump and broad jump. Richardson is simply one of the most explosive athletes to have ever played the position.

Head coach Ron Rivera made it clear this past week that for now, Sam Howell is the QB1, but he is not necessarily the starter. Understandably, Howell is Rivera’s top guy for now. If anyone comes his way that he feels can be the starter, then, of course, Rivera will look at that player as well.

Richardson has tremendous upside. His ceiling could be much higher than we imagine, seeing he already tested better in three ways than Cam Newton did.

The Cam Newton comparison might be significant and quite relevant, seeing Rivera drafted and went with Newton during his days of coaching the Carolina Panthers.

Yet, there is this. Rivera is entering the fourth year of a five-year contract. He has won 7,7 and 8 games his first three seasons. If Rivera doesn’t have a winner this upcoming 2023 season, the new owner may determine to go with his own chosen head coach at that time.

Richardson this week is shooting up draft boards, and once everyone calms down and looks again at actual game film of Richardson actually passing the ball in 2022, he most likely will level out and could be available at the No. 16 Washington selection.

However, look for Ron Rivera and the Commanders to pass on Richardson, understandably choosing to draft a player who can best contribute to the 2023 Commanders team.

8 winners (Anthony Richardson!) and losers (WR-needy teams) from the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine

It was a BIG weekend for the QBs and one team at the top of the draft. Most of the WRs, not so much.

The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is behind us, and with it, another weekend of terrific athletic displays. As always, with the festivities in Indianapolis in the books, we now have set the table for the upcoming NFL Draft in late April.

We saw one raw quarterback prospect break records as he potentially solidified himself as a top-five pick. At the same time, a fellow top QB prospect shot down the idea of playing with one franchise because of an established young star.

Meanwhile, a talented defensive prospect showed off a wingspan comparable to an NBA superstar. And the big boys up front and the fast guys on defense probably made themselves a lot of money by raising their draft stock.

Though, if you’re looking for a receiver — like the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants, to name a few franchises — this isn’t a weak receiver class per se. But, with potentially no true blue-chipper, you might be better served to wait and bide your team for an ideal pick in later rounds.

Let’s examine some of the more notable winners and losers from the 2023 NFL combine.

Vikings draft prospects: 6 players that impressed at the combine on Sunday

The running backs and offensive linemen finished the combine in style. Here are the players that stood out the most

The NFL Scouting Combine kicked off with a bang on Thursday afternoon by starting with the defensive lineman and linebackers. There was a lot of intrigue with this group, especially at the top.

On Friday, we got the secondary players with the cornerbacks and safeties. This is one of, if not the, deepest class in recent memory.

On Saturday, we got to see the quarterbacks throw and the wide receivers run. Needless to say, they didn’t disappoint.

Sunday had the offensive lineman and running backs. It was a fun way to end the combine. Here are the six players who stood out the most.

5 winners from OL, RB workouts at 2023 NFL combine

On-field workouts at the NFL combine ended Sunday with offensive linemen and running backs. Which players stood out on the last day?

Every team can use an additional offensive lineman or two.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are reportedly working hard to try to keep their starting right tackle Jawaan Taylor from hitting free agency, but other NFL teams aren’t convinced they’ll be able to make it happen.

Either way, the Jaguars — like every other team — would benefit from adding depth up front.

On Sunday, the on-field drills at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine with the fourth and final group of players at Lucas Oil Stadium. With all eyes on offensive linemen and running backs, here are five players who stood out from the pack:

2023 NFL Combine results for Wide Receiver Marvin Mims

A look at how Marvin Mims performed at the 2023 NFL Combine

He set records in the state of Texas before storming onto the scene as a true freshman in 2020.

In just his first year in Norman, Mims tied with Theo Wease for the team lead in receptions but led the Sooners in receiving yards. Mims followed that up by leading the Sooners in receiving yards again in 2021 despite a wide receiver rotation that, curiously, limited opportunities for Oklahoma’s best wide receiver over the last three seasons.

But that changed in 2022. A new regime and a new offense allowed Mims to shine. He put up career numbers in targets, receptions, and yards, culminating in his first and only 1,000-yard receiving season at the collegiate level.

And despite all that, Mims arrived in Indianapolis with something to prove. Currently projected in the second and third rounds of the 2023 NFL draft, Mims had a fantastic showing at the NFL Scouting Combine. He ran well in the 40, and his vertical jump and broad jump turned heads.

With his ability, production, and testing numbers, it would be surprising to see Mims begin to get some first-round consideration.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s elite day at the NFL Combine made comparisons to these 2 NFL stars valid

Smith-Njigba looks like he’s DESTINED for greatness.

A hamstring injury derailed most of Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s final season with Ohio State. But after a dynamite 2023 NFL Scouting Combine performance, the wide receiver still looks ready for a bright pro football future.

While players like Anthony Richardson (who stole the show) and former Buckeyes teammate C.J. Stroud (as the QB talked about his future) are more high-profile, Smith-Njigba used his testing well. It may have even vaulted him back into the firm first-round conversation — making the idea of a reunion with another previous Ohio State teammate seem more realistic.

For someone who didn’t even run the 40-yard dash (he plans to at Ohio State’s Pro Day), Smith-Njigba showed out. He almost made not running the famed sprint irrelevant.

There was Smith-Njigba’s impeccably smooth run through the gauntlet drill:

He had obvious fluidity (what we often saw in college) coming out of his breaks as a polished route-runner. This is precisely what you want to see out of an NFL playmaker:

Some of which Smith-Njigba showed while Stroud fed him passes:

One of the most significant parts of Smith-Njigba’s day was when he showed off his lateral quickness — particularly a 6.57 time on a three-cone drill. If Smith-Njigba is to shine as a primary slot receiver at the next level, he showed he has the burst to do it:

Factor in a blazing 3.93 20-yard shuttle, and apt comparisons to the Los Angeles Rams Cooper Kupp — the Super Bowl 56 MVP — will not stop between now and the end of April:

Did I mention that Smith-Njigba’s lateral testing also compared favorably to three-time Pro Bowler (2014-2016) and two-time Second-Team All-Pro (2015, 2016) Odell Beckham Jr.?

I probably should because Smith-Njigba tested better than Beckham Jr. here:

To some, Smith-Njigba’s strange 2022 had his stock drop precipitously. But for those like our Christian D’Andrea, the wideout almost always had the ability of a first-round pick.

Now, after crushing it at the Combine, that star projection feels like a lock.

2023 NFL Scouting Combine: Biggest winners from Saturday’s workouts

Which prospects made themselves the most money at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine on Saturday?

The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine continued Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium, as the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends took the field in front of all 32 teams.

Here are a handful of prospects who helped their draft stock during Saturday’s testing and on-field workouts: