Photo: O’Cyrus Torrence (54) and Anthony Richardson (15); Credit: Alex Shepherd
NFL Network draft analyst and former pro scout Daniel Jeremiah revealed his first round of prospect rankings for the upcoming 2023 NFL Draft on Tuesday, and two Florida Gators could be found within his initial top 50 players in the class.
Neither should come as a surprise: Quarterback Anthony Richardson, widely viewed as a first-round prospect, cracked the top 15 while guard O’Cyrus Torrence found himself just on the outside of first-round range.
13. Anthony Richardson
Richardson packs elite arm strength and athleticism into a big/physical frame for the position, but he is incredibly raw on tape. He has urgency and explosiveness in his setup, and the ball jumps out of his hand from his three-quarters arm slot. His arm strength is special; he doesn’t even need to engage his lower body to make power throws deep down the field. On the flip side, his decision making and accuracy are a roller-coaster ride. He yanks his arm at times, leading to some ugly misfires. He forces too many balls into crowded areas, too. He is electric as a runner, using his burst, agility and power to rack up runs of 60-to-80 yards. In summary, Richardson needs polish, but his upside exceeds everyone in the draft class. He’s a low-floor/high-ceiling prospect.
Fitting the modern mold at the quarterback position, Richardson’s upside — generated by his uncommon arm strength and top rushing speed of well over 20 miles per hour at 6-foot-4, 232 pounds — has consistently placed him in the top 15 or so picks of any mock draft you’ll come across from a credible outlet.
His talent didn’t lead to great results at Florida as Richardson compiled a 6-7 record as the team’s starter dating back to his first-team debut against Georgia in 2022. In that stretch, he completed 188-of-347 passes (54.2%) for 2,631 yards with 17 touchdowns and 11 interceptions with 115 rushes for 680 yards and nine scores on the ground.
But it is undeniable that Richardson elevated what was otherwise an underrecruited and re-developing Florida team within the role.
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His abilities as a passer led to two 400+ yard, two+ touchdown performances on the year, his explosiveness as a rusher was crucial in the Gators’ victories over Utah and Texas A&M and contributed to comebacks against Tennessee and LSU, and his improvement as a decision-maker with the ball led to just two interceptions in his final six games at UF.
NFL teams will see glimpses of Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers‘ style of play when they watch Richardson’s tape this offseason. That isn’t to say Richardson will ever reach their level of success given his need for refinement and those passers’ incredible accomplishments, but his strengths and skills are reminiscent of theirs. Now more than ever, pro teams covet Richardson’s kind of potential at quarterback.
37. O’Cyrus Torrence
Torrence is a massive offensive guard [6-foot-5, 337 pounds at the Senior Bowl] with ideal instincts and play strength. In pass protection, he can bend his knees and play with balance. He has an immediate anchor and provides plenty of space for his QB to climb up into the pocket. He has strong hands to latch and control. He is very aware versus twists and stunts. In the run game, he can create movement with defenders over his nose and has surprising quickness to reach and cut off foes. He is quick to the second level, but he struggles to redirect and adjust in space. That should improve if he can drop 10-to-15 pounds. Teams that want to run downhill and create a firm interior in the pass game will really appreciate Torrence.
As Jeremiah lays out, there aren’t many negatives to Torrence’s film which places him on the fringe of the first round, keeping positional value in mind. Any team looking to give its offensive line a boost in the late first round will absolutely be a candidate to select the one-year Gators right guard, especially if he sheds some weight during the draft process and his NFL Combine results reflect those efforts.
Torrence was the best guard in the FBS in 2022 by a significant margin, per Pro Football Focus. The season marked Torrence’s fourth in a row (a combination of over 1,500 pass protection snaps from his time at Louisiana and Florida) in which he did not allow his quarterback to be sacked by his own doing, a feat that is simply unheard of.
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