2023 NFL Combine: Winners from Day 3 of QB, WR, TE workouts

The 2023 NFL Scouting Combine continued at full speed on Saturday, with the quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends taking the field for workouts.

It was an entertaining day of football fun that I immediately followed up with going to a wedding. Luckily for me, I’m still coherent enough at the end of the night to remember what I watched take place.

Here are some of the biggest winners from Saturday’s Combine workouts.

Note: All Relative Athletic Score (RAS) measurements come from Kent Lee Platte. He has been doing incredible work during the Combine these last few years.

Quarterbacks

• Anthony Richardson, Florida

When you break vertical and broad jump records for your position, run a 4.44 40-yard dash at 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds and throw well in on-field drills, that’s a pretty good day. Richardson dominated the Combine and finished with the greatest RAS score a quarterback has ever had.

• C.J. Stroud, Ohio State

Stroud didn’t test, but his workout was one of the best I’ve ever seen from a quarterback at the Combine level. He showed pinpoint accuracy on all levels of the field, hitting his receivers in stride for some truly beautiful throws. He was throwing against air, but he looked incredibly polished and capable of being a quality NFL starter.

• Dorian Thompson-Robinson, UCLA

With a 4.56 40-yard dash, Thompson-Robinson was the fourth-fastest quarterback to run at the Combine this year, showing a bit more consistency than the likes of Max Duggan and Malik Cunningham above him. DTR had his downs, but the flashes of accuracy were impressive, which complement his very good athletic ability.

Wide receivers

• Bryce Ford-Wheaton, West Virginia

Though his positional drills seemed pedestrian, Ford-Wheaton’s workout numbers were incredible. As a 6-foot-4, 221-pound monster, he ran a blazing 4.38 40-yard dash and jumped out of the gym in both the vertical and the broad jumps. When you end the night as a 99th percentile athlete at your position, you’re coming away a winner.

• Andrei Iosivas, Princeton

Iosivas was expected to run fast given his heptathlete background, and he did, with a 4.43 at 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds. That much wasn’t surprising, but it’s his on-field work and agility drills that made him a true winner in Indianapolis. He placed second at his position in both agility drills, and he displayed very good body control and ball skills in positional workouts.

• Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State

Even if Smith-Njigba didn’t run the 40-yard dash, he came away from Saturday as a major winner. He killed it in positional drills, looking like arguably the most fluid and polished route runner on the field, which matches up with my tape grade of him. Without the 40, JSN’s RAS score is an insane 9.41, which is aided greatly by his finishing as the runaway winner at his position in both the three-cone drill and the 20-yard shuttle. WR1.

• Josh Downs, North Carolina

Downs had a nice 4.48 40-yard dash, but it was his positional drills that really made him shine. He looked crisp as a route runner, coordinated tracking down the ball and precise in his footwork. His body control and overall athleticism were on full display in the drills he took part in.

• Zay Flowers, Boston College

A 4.42 40-yard dash will do quite nicely for Flowers, who looks like one of the most explosive weapons in the draft on tape. His gauntlet drill stood out as one of the best to me, and the routes he ran looked quite fluid in positional workouts.

• Marvin Mims, Oklahoma

Mims ran up to his expectations with a 4.38 40-yard dash, confirming the electric playing style he showcased at the collegiate level. He added to that a 39.5-inch vertical and a 10-foot-9 broad jump, both placing in the 94th percentile at wide receiver all-time. His positional drills were also very good, especially his incredibly smooth gauntlet runs.

Tight ends

• Will Mallory, Miami (FL)

Mallory led all tight ends with a 4.54 40-yard dash, and he also placed third with a 36.5-inch vertical. He built upon his strong Senior Bowl week and turned it into one of the strongest Combine performances at the tight end position, which should aid his already solid tape even further.

• Zack Kuntz, Old Dominion

Everybody loves Kuntz! The Penn State-turned-Old Dominion standout measured at 6-foot-7 and 255 pounds with a 40-inch vertical, a 10-foot-8 broad jump, a blazing 4.55 40-yard dash and fantastic agility numbers. He’s a monster with tremendous length and the raw athletic talent that teams will surely be willing to take a chance on in this year’s draft.

• Sam LaPorta, Iowa

LaPorta measured below-average in height and weight for the tight end position, but everything else he did was tremendous. With a 4.59 40-yard dash, a 10-foot-3 broad jump and a 6.91 3-cone drill among many impressive numbers, he killed it in just about everything he did. Athletic Iowa tight ends have a history of working out, right?

• Darnell Washington, Georgia

The largest tight end wingspan in Combine history. 11-inch hands. A 4.64 40-yard dash and a 4.08 20-yard shuttle drill at 6-foot-7 and 264 pounds. Washington is a physical specimen. Need I say more?

• Luke Musgrave, Oregon State

Many expected Musgrave to be a top Combine performer, and he lived up to those expectations. Finishing as a 99th percentile athlete at tight end, he had a 4.61 40-yard dash with a 1.54 10-yard split, the latter of which being the top time of anyone at his position. Speed and explosiveness are the name of the game for him on tape, and he brought that to Indianapolis on Saturday.