Saturday saw most of the offensive skill position players take the field at the Scouting Combine. The quarterbacks, wide receivers and tight ends were showcased on the third day of on-field workouts. Who are some players that stood out Saturday?
Anthony Richardson, QB, Florida
Quarterback isn’t yet a position of discussion for the Jets in the first round with their attempt to lure either Aaron Rodgers or Derek Carr to the Meadowlands. But we’d still be remiss not to mention the Gators’ quarterback after wowing everyone with his workouts.
We already knew Richardson was a freakish athlete and now we have concrete numbers to support that. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds with incredible numbers of 40.5 in the vertical and 10’9″ in the broad jump. He also made so many throws with ease and just looked so smooth on the field. It won’t be a surprise now to see him drafted in the top five.
Darnell Washington, TE, Georgia
Brock Bowers was getting all the attention among the Georgia tight ends during the season and Washington was more of a blocker. On Saturday, Washington proved he can be more than just a blocker. He can catch and move extremely well. A 4.64 40 at six-foot-seven and 264 pounds? Yep, that’ll work. There will be a couple of first-round tight ends in April and Washington may have just stamped his name on that list.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba, WR, Ohio State
Smith-Njigba has been linked in a previous Mel Kiper mock, so his name will at least be on the board for the Jets at No. 13. Smith-Njigba didn’t run the 40, but his other numbers were very impressive, including an insane 6.57 3-cone drill. That was almost 0.3 seconds faster than the next closest.
As if that wasn’t enough, he was the only wide receiver to do the short shuttle in less than four seconds, which is ridiculous. He posted a 3.93 with the next-best being 4.12.
Smith-Njigba looked smooth and likely quieted any concerns about his nagging hamstring injury that limited him to just three games in 2022. He’s absolutely in play to be the first wide receiver taken in April.
Andrei Iosivas, WR, Princeton
Jaxon Smith-Njigba had insane athletic numbers, as we already mentioned. But those “next closest” numbers that were mentioned? They both belonged to Andrei Iosivas, who followed up a strong Senior Bowl week with a strong Combine performance. Aside from his short shuttle and 3-cone, Iosivas posted a very respectable 4.43 40-yard dash. Perhaps a potential day-two option for the Jets? It wouldn’t hurt.
