I think we have a new #1 overall pick. This weekend, Anthony Richardson showed why he deserves to have his name called off the board first in this year’s draft. He broke the combine record for vertical with 40.5″ and tied the broad jump record of 10’9″. Wow!
If there are two things I want my QB to be ELITE at, it’s the vertical jump and the broad jump. We have years of NFL Combine data that show players with these elite traits (especially QBs) are about as sure as they come at the next level. The quarterback position is EXTREMELY tough to draft, but it gets a lot easier when you’ve got data like this to back it up. Anthony Richardson is about as close as you get to a superstar lock. Trust the data.
Not only did Richardson display his otherworldly athleticism, but he showed off his pinpoint accuracy in drills. It’s not often you see QBs drop it in a bucket during the “playing catch” period of the combine/pro day, and watching Richardson sling the rock was a thing of beauty. He has a live arm, a cannon attached to his shoulder. You could make an argument that’s the greatest arm in CFB history. He had GMs foaming at the mouth with his touch and poise.
We also got to see his pocket awareness during this portion. I heard one NFL GM quote “we’ve never seen a guy evade mock pressure like this before, it’s like he has a sixth sense.” So he has the body of an ancient olympian, the accuracy of a military-grade sniper rifle, and the IQ of Stephen Hawking? If the Bears don’t draft this guy number 1 overall, the GM should be thrown off the Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower).
If I were the Bears, I’d trade Justin Fields straight up for Deebo Samuel, and draft Anthony Richardson. Then, I’d run the power option with Deebo/RichardGOAT over and over again until defenses figured out how to tackle one of them. Once they got tired, I’d drop back ARich and launch Hail Marys with his Hand Cannon to former Georgia TE Darnell Washington (they drafted him in the 2nd round). He’s basically a LT playing TE with hands like Jerry Rice. I don’t see anyone stopping that 3-headed monster. They’d basically be the ’85 Bears but now they’re the unstoppable force instead of the immovable object. Shoutout to me for that metaphor.
I think the moral of the story here: the NFL Combine is like ChatGPT for general managers. You can literally learn everything from it, and you can trust the results with your life.
A star is born. Congratulations Anthony Richardson, YOU just made the Hall of Fame.
The Armchair Experts 
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