Florida QB shows off arm, Kentucky QB Levis could slide, and Raiders remove Georgia DL Carter from draft board

NFL Draft News

Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson showed off his impressive arm strength during the school’s Pro Day earlier this week, although there were a few blips.

The Sporting News’ Jacob Camenker was on hand for the event and said Richardson’s workout was different when compared to the other top signal callers in that C.J. Stroud of Ohio State, Bryce Young of Alabama and Will Levis of Kentucky showed their ability to throw to all areas of the field with accuracy and in rhythm.

Richardson, on the other hand, focused more on deep outs, comebacks, fades and fly routes, Camenker said.

More from Camenker: “Though Richardson’s ability to effortlessly launch the ball 60-plus yards downfield impressed, he didn’t quell all of the concerns about his accuracy at the workout. He threw in rhythm down the field, but some of his passes in the short and intermediate range were a bit off. They were still largely catchable, as most pro day passes are, but his ball placement will need work at the next level.”

He went on to say that Richardson was the least accurate of the four QBs in terms of accuracy and ball placement but still “won the day” because of his uncanny arm strength.

But Richardson still has plenty of fans, including former NFL scout Nate Tice, who said on a recent The Athletic podcast that the signal caller is not as big of a project as he’s being projected.

Here’s what Tice said: “He handles protections … he gets everybody lined up…I think the accuracy concerns are overblown. I think it was part of the aggressive nature of Florida’s offense and also the pass catchers were just straight garbage for Florida. CJ Stroud is my QB1 but if my job wasn’t on the line, I totally understand taking a homerun swing on this guy.”

 

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Speaking of quarterbacks … Yahoo Sports draft analyst Charles Robinson said Levis is a candidate to slide in the draft. From Robinson, via the Robby and Rexrode on 102.5 FM in Nashville: “… Here’s what I can tell you about Levis. When you talk to teams, unquestionably they love his skill set. I think most everybody agrees that he has the best arm in the draft. But I think ultimately they’re like, ‘Look, there is a decision-making aspect of this that we can’t get away from, and it’s not like we’re looking at film and he’s playing with a team that is completely devoid of NFL talent.’ There’s some other talent there that will end up playing in the NFL.

“But he is definitely playing against a lot of NFL talent, and he is making bad decisions pretty consistently that weighed on Kentucky over the last couple of years. Teams aren’t going to like that.”

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Who’s a sleeper who should not be a sleeper?

According to an NFL Draft subreddit, that player would be Ole Miss running back Zach Evans.

Evans is ranked in the third-round range right now in the latest Fanspeak-Jake Rigdon big board, coming in at No. 70 overall. Evans ran an unofficial 4.45 40 at Wednesday’s Ole Miss pro day.

However, he may be a player on the rise. NFL.com ranks him as the third-best RB, behind Texas’ Bijan Robinson and Alabama’s Jahmyr Gibbs.

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At risk of dogpiling the Jalen Carter situation, add at least one team that has allegedly taken the Georgia defensive tackle off its draft board: The Las Vegas Raiders.

Carter is currently ranked just outside of the first round at No. 33 overall.

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Three players in particular who are on the rise: Oregon cornerback Christian Gonzalez, Vanderbilt linebacker Anfernee Orji and Houston receiver Nathaniel “Tank” Dell.

Gonzalez, at No. 8, is the top-rated CB in the Fanspeak-Rigdon big board. NFL Rookie Watch tweeted out that several scouts see Gonzalez as a “sure shot” to go in the top 10.

Meanwhile, a pair of Day 2 prospects are getting more media attention in Orji and Dell.

NFL draft analyst John Vogel said a scout he spoke to thinks Orji could sneak into the third round.

And Dell has received a ton of attention from NFL teams in the leadup to the draft.  The Draft Network reports that Dell has been one of the most popular prospects in terms of team meetings.

Orji is ranked No. 95; Dell is No. 77.

 

Jake Rigdon (@jrigdon73) covers the NFL draft for Fanspeak.com. His big board is updated at least once per week during the season and leading up to the draft. Message him on Twitter to receive $3 off your new Ultimate GM subscription.


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