QB Anthony Richardson makes history at combine, and that’s good news for Lions

INDIANAPOLIS — He’s the biggest quarterback in this year’s draft. And the tallest. And the fastest. He even has the biggest arm, too.

He’s Anthony Richardson.

And one way or the other, he could be improving the Detroit Lions’ options in the NFL draft.

The Florida quarterback lived up to the hype when he stepped onto the field at the NFL combine on Saturday night, crushing the 40-yard dash in 4.43 seconds. That was faster than every other quarterback in this year’s draft. It was faster than Justin Fields (4.45 seconds), the best running quarterback in the NFL last season, and D’Andre Swift too (4.48 seconds). Hell, it was faster than everyone who started a game for the Detroit Lions’ defense last season.

Richardson topped out at 23.44 mph.

The fastest ball carrier in the NFL last season: 22.11 mph.

Are you are starting to understand why Richardson is drawing so much interest in the NFL draft?

“With Anthony Richardson,” NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said, “you don’t have a ceiling.”

There might not even be a comp. Richardson measured 6-foot-4 1/4 (first among quarterbacks) and 244 pounds (first among QBs) before going 10-foot-9 in the broad jump (first among QBs) and 40.5 inches in the vertical jump (an all-time record). His unofficial Relative Athletic Score — a metric that compares a player’s measurables against all other players at his position throughout combine history — currently sits at 10.0 out of 10.0.

In other words: There has never been an athlete quite like him at the quarterback position.

“I want to be a legend,” Richardson said. “I want to be like Patrick Mahomes. I want to be like Tom Brady. I want to be one of the greats. I will be one of the greats, because I’m willing to work that hard to get to that point. So to answer your question, I feel like I’m going to be one of the greats in the next few years.”

Related: Of course the Lions should consider Anthony Richardson in the NFL draft

Maybe. Richardson also has considerable work ahead of him to harness an arm that completed just 53.8% of its passes last season. Those inaccuracies were on display at times during the throwing portion of the combine, too.

Then again, so was the pure strength of that arm — airing out 60-yard bombs effortlessly.

It was a combine performance for the ages, and should solidify Richardson’s place in the top half of the first round of the draft. The Lions have two picks in that range, at 6 and 18, and could be among the many potential landing spots for Richardson. They might even offer one of the best situations for him, because Jared Goff remains under contract for two more years on what is now a team-friendly deal. That would offer Richardson the time he needs to develop outside the white lines, then Detroit could eventually move on from Goff rather than make him one of the highest-paid players in the history of the game — a pay hike that is due in the next year or two.

Even if the Lions don’t land Richardson, the quarterback’s red-hot draft stock could help them. With quarterbacks like Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud already expected to be selected in the top five, the Lions need just one more quarterback to go in the top five before one of the blue-chip defensive players fall into their lap at No. 6. If someone like Las Vegas (seventh overall pick) or Carolina (ninth overall pick) moves into the top five for a quarterback like Richardson or Will Levis, either Jalen Carter, Will Anderson or Tyree Wilson would be available for the Lions at No. 6.

Detroit could also deal the sixth pick to a team that wants a quarterback, and might not even have to leave the top 10 to do it.

No matter how it all shakes out, Richardson’s huge combine is good news for them.