Biggest risers and fallers from the 2023 NFL Combine

Quarterbacks

Florida's Anthony Richardson

Riser: Anthony Richardson, Florida

Really, all three of the top four quarterbacks who decided to throw – not including Alabama’s Bryce Young, who won just by showing up with basically the same measurements as former No. 1 pick Kyler Murray – looked good out there.

Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, in particular, just made everything look so effortless, with a solid base, smooth release and great ball-placement. Kentucky’s Will Levis had great zip on the ball and was calm in his footwork, because he was comfortable hanging at the top of his drop and showing off his self-proclaimed “cannon” – although I would've liked to see him let it rip even more.

But how can I not talk about Florida’s Anthony Richardson here? The athletic testing is just stupid. A 4.43 in the 40? A 40.5-inch vert and a 10-9 broad jump, at 244 pounds? Are you kidding me? Those marks are significantly better than Cam Newton, who body-type wise seems like a close comp.

Along with that, just the power behind his release, the flick of the wrist being so easy to him, driving the ball on shake routes and speed outs towards the sideline. And then the showcase throws on the go-balls, where he let it fly 65 yards – with pace – it was really fun to watch.

While there are obvious questions on tape, I think many people undersold what he already showed with just over one season of starting experience, and there have to be several teams very intrigued with the idea of a freak like AR-15. I wouldn't be shocked if he ends up going as high as second overall. There's no chance he'll make it out of the top nine.

TCU's Max Duggan

Faller: Max Duggan, TCU

There’s really only so much you can do to hurt your stock as a quarterback, jumping and running around in underpants, before throwing routes versus air to receivers you’ve never linked up with, but if there was one guy who definitely didn’t help himself, it would be TCU’s Max Duggan.

He ran a 4.52 in the 40, which was second-best to only Anthony Richardson, but other than that he had the worst or second-worst mark in all the other testing marks, and I have to question why he even participated in all of them.

I thought he was also safe with his throws, forcing receivers to turn for the ball at the sideline or slowing down on deep balls in order to get the completions, but that’s not really what the coaches, GMs and scouts want to see in Indy. It’s about the ability to put the ball to a spot, where defenders won’t be able to make a play.

Just watching the first three slants he threw, they all came out different – one low, then high and finally slightly behind the target. He’s not the most consistent guy in terms of his mechanics, and he already missed a chance to stand out during Senior Bowl week.

I’m not going to act like Richardson was perfect and what we saw with him and Duggan in terms of their legs going a little bit maybe later on, because they were doing all the testing stuff. Yet, at least you saw how easily the Florida QB was able to flick it in contrast to Duggan.