NCAAF

Anthony Richardson 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

Chris McGlynn Draft, Football, NCAAF, NFL, Scouting Reports , , , ,

Name: Anthony Richardson
Position: Quarterback
School: Florida
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 232 lbs
Games watched: vs. Utah (2022), vs. Tennessee (2022), vs. Kentucky (2022), vs. LSU (2022), vs. Georgia (2021), Georgia (2022)

It has been a rollercoaster type season for Anthony Richardson. He opened the season with a performance that had people talking about winning a Heisman. He did not quite live up to the hype the rest of the way, as Florida limped to a 6-7 finish that included a loss to Vanderbilt.

Despite the up and down season, Richardson still did plenty to grab the attention of NFL scouts. He threw for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions while completing 53.8 percent of his passes. He added 654 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground. Those numbers don’t jump out as a clear first-round pick, but with the number of teams that need an upgrade at quarterback, Richardson will be highly sought after.

Pros

With the NFL moving more and more towards mobile quarterbacks, Richardson seems to fit the mold of the modern NFL. He can make plays with both his arm and his legs. His ability in the open field is special. He also has the arm strength to hit every spot on the field with ease. He has some room to grow in his pocket presence, but he has strong moments of stepping up in the pocket when he has the opportunity to. His pre-snap work is pretty strong. Florida ran a lot of pre-snap motion. Richardson also does a nice job of keeping his eyes downfield on the move and working from high to low in his reads. He did not do it a ton, but there are instances on his film where he freezes the safety with his eyes before throwing to his intended target. When he is in a rhythm, he does well anticipating outbreaking routes and hitting his receivers in stride.

Cons

Richardson’s biggest drawback is his accuracy, or lack thereof. His poor completion percentage underlines his inability to hit his receivers consistently. He has a tendency to miss high and long, which is always incredibly dangerous for a quarterback. His mechanics and footwork need a bit of refining. While pre-snap work is a strength, post-snap work is a bit of a weakness. He is slow working through his progression and is guilty of locking in on his first read. In addition to that, his film shows moments where he misses windows on timing routes because he waits for the receiver to get open. I would love to see him develop a bit more touch, especially on underneath routes. With that, his ball placement is spotty at best, as he struggles to throw to the correct side of receivers. He also has some communication issues with receivers, which lead to a pair of bad pick-sixes in the games I watched.

Synopsis

There is a scenario where Richardson becomes one the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL. His ceiling is incredibly high thanks to his physical profile, elite tools and otherworldly athleticism. However, he is raw and there is a more likely scenario where the game never slows down for him and his accuracy never improves and he finds himself out of the league by the end of his rookie contract. It is rare for quarterbacks to suddenly become more accurate in the NFL, but Josh Allen and Daniel Jones have done so recently. Or maybe that just means Brian Daboll is a wizard.

Ideal scheme fit: RPO-heavy offense

Grade: 82

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Draft Season Never Ends: Jalen Carter and Georgia dominate TCU

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Stellar nights for Jalen Carter and Stetson Bennett propels Georgia to the biggest bowl game victory ever. Meanwhile, it is hard to find much of a silver lining for TCU, but Chris finds one player to praise.

You can find every episode on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. As always, I appreciate reviews, feedback and when you hit that subscribe button.

Draft Season Never Ends: CFP Semifinal Reaction

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The wildest day of the College Football Playoff ever featured a number of top draft prospects. Chris breaks down stellar performances from C.J. Stroud, Quentin Johnson & more!

You can find every episode on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. As always, I appreciate reviews, feedback and when you hit that subscribe button.

Myles Murphy 2023 NFL Draft Scouting Report

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Name: Myles Murphy
Position: Edge rusher
School: Clemson
Height: 6’5″
Weight: 275 lbs
Games watched: vs. Syracuse (2022), vs. Florida State (2022), vs. Wake Forest (2022), vs. UNC (’22 ACCCG), vs. Georgia (2021), vs. Wake Forest (2021)

Clemson has one of the most talented defensive lines in the entire country, featuring four players that will likely be selected in the Top 100 come April. Perhaps the one from that front four that will hear his name called first will be Myles Murphy. He finished his true junior season with 6.5 sacks and 11 tackles for loss. His presence was felt in the backfield way more often than that as well.

Murphy’s impressive year earned him 1st team All-ACC honors, which came on the heels of a 2nd team All-ACC performance the year before. He has been consistently productive and there is a ton of untapped potential. Given how high we have seen raw, toolsy edge rushers be drafted in recent years, I have a feeling there will be a number of NFL teams interested in Murphy’s services.

Pros

As I already said, Murphy is a plus athlete with incredible bend and burst off the line. He is more athlete than polished pass rusher at this point, but 18.5 career sacks for a player that feels like he is just scratching the surface more than suffices from a production standpoint. He certainly looks the part of an NFL edge rusher as well. His play strength clearly improved in 2022, with Murphy regularly breaking out a bull rush that allowed him to collapse the pocket. His speed rush move improved as the year went along as well. His hand usage is solid, but there is room for improvement. While I wouldn’t call it a strength of his game, Murphy is better in zone coverage than I would have expected.

Cons

For as much fun as it is to watch Murphy fly off the ball, that aggressiveness often gets him in trouble. He is known to overrun plays or miss assignments because he is too hasty to read his keys. As a result, Murphy really struggles when put in conflict. He excels at setting the edge as a run defender, but he still has room to improve when it comes to disengaging to finish the play. His pass rush planning needs to improve at the next level. Right now, he just plays downhill and hopes to win off athleticism and finishing speed.

Synopsis

Murphy did not grade out as highly as some of the other edge rushers in this class, but I think he has a higher ceiling than most of them. He routinely created pressure based on being the faster or stronger player. With some good coaching and a bit more experience, I think Murphy has the potential to be a game-wrecker.

Ideal scheme fit: Attacking 3-4 outside linebacker or 5-technique defensive end

Grade: 87

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Draft Season Never Ends: Will Anderson Jr. vs. Jalen Carter

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Who should you choose: the elite edge rusher from Alabama or the game-wrecking defensive tackle from Georgia? Chris does his best to break them both down and explain which one he would pick.

You can find every episode on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you find your podcasts. As always, I appreciate reviews, feedback and when you hit that subscribe button.