Finding Broncos: NFL Combine Winners & Losers

The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine is underway, and the offense took the field with two groups of quarterbacks and wide receivers. Both are positions the Denver Broncos could be looking for help at to improve their depth at the positions. Denver has their starting quarterback, but they could be looking for a new backup.

Measurements:

Hand size is always discussed with quarterbacks, but you don't want to be too small. For example, with hand size, the circumference of a football is about 21 inches, and you want to be able to grasp at least 40% of the ball.

Winner: Anthony Richardson | Florida

Richardson is big for a quarterback weighing 244 pounds, and his hand size came in at 10-1/2 inches.

Winner: Will Levis | Kentucky

Levis checked in with the biggest hands at 10-5/8 inches this year.

Loser: Bryce Young | Alabama

Everyone knew Young was going to be small, and he measured 5-foot-10. He wasn't as light as many expected, weighing 204 pounds, but the question is how much water weight he put on to be heavier.

Loser: Stetson Bennett IV | Georgia

While Young is talked about with size, due to him being a potential #1 overall pick, Bennett is right there. He came in at 5-foot-11 and 192 pounds, under what you want.

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Athletic Testing:

40-yard dash:

Winner: Max Duggan | TCU

Anthony Richardson ran faster and stole the show, but Duggan posted a 4.52 time, which is quite good for him.

Loser: Tyson Bagent | Shepherd

4.79 isn't a bad time for Bagent, but it will be overshadowed by the other quarterback times.

10-yard split:

Winner: Dorian Thompson-Robinson | UCLA

While he didn't have the fastest time, the initial burst was great, with a time of 1.51 seconds.

Loser: Anthony Richardson | Florida

Richardson blew the ceiling off with his 40 time, but his initial burst was 1.53 seconds, and the slowest time was 1.59 seconds.

Vertical Jump:

Winner: Anthony Richardson | Florida

Richardson set a record for quarterbacks getting up 40.5 inches at 244 pounds.

Loser: Max Duggan | TCU

The vertical isn't a big deal for quarterbacks, but it is an explosion test, and Duggan is viewed as quite athletic. As a result, his 30.5-inch vertical was disappointing.

Broad Jump:

Winner: Anthony Richardson | Florida

It was a record-setting day for Richardson setting the record for quarterbacks in both jumps. The broad jump, he was aiming for 11 feet but fell a little short at 10 feet-9 inches.

Loser: Jake Haener | Fresno State

The jumps aren't a big deal for quarterbacks, but Haener was tied for the worst jump with Tanner McKee at 9-feet-6-inches.

Overall: Quarterbacks

Winner: Anthony Richardson | Florida

This was a big moment for Richardson, and he did a great job with the athletic testing. The drills were a bigger factor, and while they weren't the cleanest, he did a good job throwing the ball with good mechanics and placing it on target.

Loser: Jake Haener | Fresno State

This was a chance for Haener to shine, and he was inconsistent with his placement. There is an issue of not being familiar with the receivers, but his passes were high and low more often than you want to see.

Winner: C.J. Stroud | Ohio State

Stroud had the best throwing session, and not everything was perfect. However, his natural skills, mechanics, and placement were obvious. The drills seemed effortless.

Loser: Jarran Hall | BYU

Hall needed to show better mechanics and placement, and neither happened. Instead, his showing hurt some of the receivers.

Winner: Aiden O'Connell | Purdue

O'Connell, like Haener, should shine in this setting, and O'Connell did. However, there were some issues on the deeper throws, which were to be expected.

Loser: Max Duggan | TCU

Duggan needs to rework his lower body mechanics completely. His mechanical issues led to placement issues, and he harmed the receivers most through the drills.

Winner: Clayton Tune | Houston

Tune had a good day, testing out well athletically and having good drills. He did well throwing the ball on target at every level of the field and with all the throws they were asked to make.

Loser: Dorian Thompson-Robinson | UCLA

Watching Thompson-Robinson was extremely rough. On short throws, multiple passes hit receivers in the legs. In addition, numerous throws went well over the head of his receiver.

Winner: Will Levis | Kentucky

Levis had one of the better days in the drills, which he needed with sitting out the athletic testing. He showed off his arm on the deeper shots and showed good touch when required.

Loser: Bryce Young | Alabama

Three of the top four quarterbacks tested and threw, and each of them had a great day. But, unfortunately, young decided to sit out after adding some weight, which sitting out may not have been the best decision in hindsight.

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