Anthony Richardson showed that he may not even have a ceiling this past weekend at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine. The 6-foot-4, 244-pound quarterback emphatically checked all the boxes—testing in the 95th percentile or higher in the broad jump, vertical jump, 40-yard dash and 10-yard split while putting his beauty of a deep ball on display.
But there are apparently some boxes he still doesn’t check, at least for the Carolina Panthers.
Will Kunkel of FOX Charlotte was featured on Wednesday’s episode of the Panthers On Tap podcast, joining hosts Curtis Rauen and Bryson Karbley to put a bow on the combine. When going over their options under center in this year’s draft, Kunkel said he believes that there are only three prospects in play for Carolina’s first-round pick—Bryce Young, CJ Stroud and Will Levis.
“I think those are the only three that they are seriously interested in,” he said. “I do not think Anthony Richardson is a good play for them, and I don’t think they’re overly interested in him because he’s not ready to play in the NFL right away and they don’t have a guy for him to sit behind right now.”
When asked if the Panthers would be interested in signing a guy for Richardson to sit behind—say, a Jimmy Garoppolo—Kunkel dismissed that approach rather quickly.
“They’re just not gonna go that route,” he replied. “They will not go get Garoppolo. In my opinion, they’re not gonna go get any free-agent quarterback.”
Despite Richardson’s tremendous upside, it feels as though owner David Tepper and general manager Scott Fitterer won’t practice much more patience at the position. While the University of Florida standout could very well be the best player of the bunch when it’s all said and done—it’s Young, Stroud and Levis who are more prepared to lead the Panthers right out of the gate.