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
Anthony Richardson, Florida | Grade: A
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.
Light work. @GVOaant | @GatorsFB
— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2023
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/njkE0VGBSp
C.J. Stroud, Ohio State | Grade: A-
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.
CJ Stroud throwing moon balls. 🚀 @OhioStateFB
— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2023
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/adkpt7fogB
Stetson Bennett, Georgia | Grade: A-
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 on Day 3 than initially expected.
"I feel like I'm at a golf tournament right now." The crowd in Indy is loving Stetson Bennett. 👏
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) March 4, 2023
📺: #NFLCombine on NFL Network
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/IKsJSBqBpM
Will Levis, Kentucky | Grade: B+
Levis threw it well. Not magnificently. On the long-ball "driving range" throw, to borrow a term from Daniel Jeremiah on the broadcast, Levis' first pass was underthrown, the second was a little better, and it wasn't until the third deep shot that Levis really let it rip. He was mostly accurate on the other throws, not pinpoint.
The Kentucky star declined to run the 40-yard dash and had a 34-inch vertical, which was the fifth-highest among nine quarterbacks who participated in that drill. Good, not great, particularly for someone billed as an freaky athletic specimen. Now, the 10-foot-4 broad was the second-best behind Richardson. Overall, a solid day for Levis.
That ball explodes out of his hand. @will_levis
— NFL (@NFL) March 4, 2023
📺: #NFLCombine on @nflnetwork
📱: Stream on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/qY3TtD6SGg
Losers
Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA | Grade: C
It wasn't all bad for Thompson-Robinson. Really wasn't. His 4.56 in the 40 is moving for a quarterback, and his 10-foot-1 in the broad jump was the fourth-best at the quarterback spot. Throwing the ball, he struggled. Accuracy, timing, anticipation, rhythm, and it was even apparent he doesn't have a big-time arm when he had to throw the deep out, post corner, and long ball.
Tanner McKee, Stanford | Grade: C-
I'm surprised McKee worked out, because he didn't look like a quality athlete on film by today's quarterback standards. He had tied for the lowest broad jump at 9-foot-6, and his 33-inch vertical wasn't brutal but was the third-lowest at the position. On the field, McKee's unique delivery spit out some inaccurate passes at all levels, and his arm strength was lacking.