Quarterback quartet at the top among NFL Scouting Combine storylines
INDIANAPOLIS — The signature event on the NFL calendar between the Super Bowl and the draft gets underway this week as the entire league descends upon Indianapolis for the NFL Scouting Combine.
In between shrimp cocktails at St. Elmo’s and fancy cocktails at the J.W. Marriott hotel bar, the 32 teams will poke and prod 319 potential draft prospects. They’ll put them through not just physical, but also mental, tests to see judge where those players fit on their boards, if at all.
The event begins in earnest on Monday and runs through next Monday, with various position groups staggered throughout that time. By the time the last groups — the offensive linemen and running backs — leave Indianapolis, the storylines for the late-April draft will be established.
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“There’s going to be some fascinating storylines to follow as we go towards the draft,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said on a conference call Friday. “In terms of overall strength of the draft, I think it’s a really good corner group. I think it’s a good edge rusher group. I think the tight end group is the best I’ve seen in the last 10 years. … You know, the quarterbacks, as I mentioned, are going to be a big storyline.”
That storyline has already been well-established. It’s certainly going to be one of the five biggest storylines of the Combine.
So let’s just dive right in to those storylines.
High-profile quarterback prospects return to the draft process
The complaint surrounding the 2022 NFL Draft was the lack of a number of high-profile, first-round quarterback prospects. That was later backed up when only the University of Pittsburgh’s Kenny Pickett was a first-round selection, going to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
That’s not the case this year. Alabama’s Bryce Young, Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis and Florida’s Anthony Richardson have all been talked about since literally last year’s draft ended, and all have been talked about being top-10 picks.
“I have it Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Levis, Richardson,” Jeremiah said. “But, again, if you know who you have developing these guys and you have a plan in place, I think it’s very close when you look at how those guys stack up. For me it’s Bryce, a gap, and then those other three guys. I think it’s however they fit you, what plan you have in place, and how you want to use them.”
This week provides the first in-depth opportunity for the teams to really dive into those four quarterbacks. While it’s become more and more rare for quarterbacks to throw at the Combine, they’ll still go through plenty of interviews, as well as the usual tests of strength and athleticism.
It may not fully answer the questions about where the four ultimately go on April 27, but it’ll be a major data point. At least, that is, until they go through their various Pro Days in March.
Anthony Richardson may be the physical ‘freak show’ of this Combine
There’s always one prospect who’s athletic traits become the talk of the Combine. Meet Richardson, maybe the most talked-about prospect at least going into the week.
Richardson only played in 22 games over three seasons for the Gators. However, the 6-foot-4, 231-pound quarterback arrived in college garnering comparisons to former Auburn Heisman winner and Carolina Panthers MVP Cam Newton.
Now, those comparisons will follow Richardson to Indianapolis. When he’s able to go through the various strength, speed and agility tests, those will only been strengthened.
The film Richardson put out during his time at Florida was the definition of inconsistent. But the freak-show athleticism and arm strength he displayed at times was also there, and it should showcase itself well in a Combine setting.
“I know it’s a little bit of a roller coaster,” Jeremiah said of Richardson. “I know he hasn’t played a ton, but teams are starting to look at some of these quarterbacks as lottery tickets, and this one has the biggest pay-out.”
Tight end class one of the deepest in recent memory
The Browns seem happy with their top two tight ends in David Njoku and Harrison Bryant. If they wanted to dip into the pool on the third day of the draft to add a third, this would seem to be the year to do so.
Jeremiah said there are “eleven tight ends that I have top three round grades on, which is ridiculous number.” There no consensus tight end No. 1, with Utah’s Dalton Kincaid, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer, Oregon State’s Luke Musgrave and Georgia’s Darnell Washington al among those in the mix for that title.
Why is that fact important going into the Combine? Because for Jeremiah — who previously worked in the college scouting departments for the…
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