The Carolina Panthers may have finally settled on Bryce Young, but that decision apparently didn’t come without some serious competition.
According to ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler, the team was “very intrigued” by University of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson during their elaborate evaluation process.
While Bryce Young is projected by most to go No. 1, the #Panthers were very intrigued by Anthony Richardson through the evaluation process. He made a strong impression in interviews.
Many scouts around league have Richardson in Tier 1 of draft QBs due to enormous upside.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) April 27, 2023
Richardson presents the most upside amongst the 2023 NFL draft’s top four passing prospects. The 6-foot-4, 244-pounder is an otherworldly athlete—having registered a phenomenal 4.43-second 40-yard dash while breaking quarterback combine records for the broad and vertical jumps.
Oh, and he also has a rocket launcher of an arm and a set of dynamic legs to boot. A potentially special dual-threat weapon, Richardson may end up being the prototype of what NFL teams want under center moving forward.
Fowler’s reporting of Richardson’s interview prowess shouldn’t come as much of a surprise either. Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer had the following to say about his talk with Richardson from the combine:
“So, we met with him last night, and he was really good,” he said. “Much further ahead mentally in terms of the football processing and what he knows about the game. He was really good.”
So, even though Carolina is still expected to take Young, it’s easy to see why they’ve been tempted to go elsewhere atop the board.
