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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Entertainment
Kevin Sweeney

NFL Draft: Why Anthony Richardson Thinks He’s an ‘Alien'

From his 4.43 second 40-yard dash to his incredible arm strength, there might not be a more physically impressive quarterback prospect than Florida’s Anthony Richardson, a projected first-round pick in this year’s NFL draft.

Richardson also isn’t shy about flexing his athletic exploits. In a recent interview with NFL.com’s Cameron Wolfe, Richardson said he could dunk a basketball from the free throw line by high school and described the whistle from his tight spiral as sounding like “a missile.”

"As a player, I'm not human. I'm an alien," Richardson told Wolfe. "I don't think I can be compared to anybody.”

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Those alien comments are limited to his freakish football skills. Off the field, Richardson says he’s “normal—just a fun-loving guy who likes to make people smile.”

Richardson is one of the most polarizing prospects in this year’s NFL draft, possessing the type of elite physical tools that could make him one of the best quarterbacks in the league but concerns about accuracy woes that could hinder his game at the next level. Richardson’s Relative Athletic Score is the highest of any quarterback prospect who tested at the NFL combine since at least 1987, but he completed just 53.8% of his passes for the Gators this past season.

Sports Illustrated’s Conor Orr’s latest mock draft projects Richardson to come off the board at pick No. 12 to the Houston Texans, the last of the four high-profile quarterbacks (Bryce Young, Will Levis and C.J. Stroud) to come off the board. 

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