After years of rolling with veteran quarterbacks near the end of their careers, the Indianapolis Colts finally found a true franchise savior in Anthony Richardson. The Florida product has the highest ceiling of any quarterback in the draft class, but he’s still something of an undeveloped product that will probably go through some growing pains. So, with that in mind, what should the Colts expect from their long-awaited heir to Andrew Luck?
What the Indianapolis Colts Should Expect From Anthony Richardson
Anthony Richardson the Prospect
There is no limit to what Anthony Richardson has the physical ability to do. Checking in at 6′-4″ and 244 pounds, Richardson is quite literally the most athletic quarterback in recent history, as his Relative Athletic Score (RAS) ranked 1st out of 916 quarterbacks since 1987. Basically, he’s even more of a tank than peak Cam Newton and even more elusive than present-day Josh Allen.
Athleticism is nice, but at the end of the day, quarterbacking is all about throwing the football, and Richardson excels in that regard as well. The Florida product easily has the best arm in the draft, and probably has a top-five cannon in the league. There is no throw he doesn’t have the potential to make, and he put on an absolute clinic throughout the pre-draft process.
Every C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson deep ball from the NFL Combine. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dbgJuvSL9B
— V̷a̷t̷o̷r̷ (@VatorSports) March 4, 2023
Now, having the ability to do something and actually doing it on a consistent basis are two completely different things. Consistency is the name of the game, and if Richardson were more reliable on a snap-to-snap basis, he would have been the unanimous choice for the first-overall pick. However, his accuracy comes and goes, as demonstrated by his 53.8% completion percentage during his final year at Florida.
He also is quick to panic, turning to his legs if his first read isn’t there rather than going through his progressions. In fairness to Richardson, one could argue this isn’t a flaw, as he’s so effective on the ground that he should take any rushing lane he can find. However, even though quarterback athleticism is more accepted in the NFL community, you still need to throw if you want to win games.
Scheme Fit
If Anthony Richardson works out, he’ll be the best quarterback in this class and one of the best in the league. The Colts need to do everything they can to polish this unrefined rock into a beautiful diamond, and that might mean keeping him on the bench to start his career.
The Colts have an adequate bridge quarterback in Gardner Minshew. While nobody would confuse him with a franchise savior, the former sixth-round pick has established himself as one of the better backups in the league and can keep the ship afloat in the short-term.
In a perfect world, Richardson could spend his entire rookie season on the bench, improve his accuracy, and become the next Josh Allen. However, if the Colts get off to a slow start, they might need to turn to Richardson to save their season. Once again using Allen as an example, the Bills threw him straight into the fire, and after two seasons of growing pains, he turned into a top-five quarterback.
There is no guarantee that Richardson will have the same success as the Bills quarterback, but he’s well worth the gamble. You need an elite quarterback to win football games, and if Richardson hits his ceiling, the Colts will continue to add to their legacy of fantastic passers.
