Anthony Richardson’s film, although limited, doesn’t lie. There is supernova talent and pieces waiting for the Colts

It doesn’t take long to be impressed with Anthony Richardson. Even with fewer combined college and professional passing attempts (477) than Gardner Minshew had in 2023 alone (490), Richardson’s otherworldly combination of size, athleticism and arm talent stands out immediately and shines brightly on screen:

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds (but saying he is now charging north of 250) while putting on a show in the NFL scouting pool a year ago, Richardson has few comparisons, not just in recent memory but historically, regarding his tangible size and athletic profile (a combination of Daunte Culpepper and Donovan McNabb was my pre-draft comparison).

It was easy to label Richardson with the “P” word (project) coming out of college, and it’s easy to look at his rookie year box score, which contains four starts, 84 passing attempts, and a completion percentage below 60% and feel there is no need to remove that label anytime soon. But the draft term never suited Richardson’s actual style and feel as a quarterback. It wasn’t when he was in Gainesville and it still isn’t after what he’s shown in less than 200 professional photos.

Richardson is a great player with a propensity to make big plays with his arms and legs. He’s not a powerful player like Shawn Kemp looking for dunks and little else. It’s the little things that make Richardson such an intriguing player, and it’s the little things that give Richardson a much higher foundation than his limited experience would suggest. It’s a baseline that makes the path much smoother to reaching your cosmos-scraping ceiling.

Richard turned 22 in May. He’s younger than all but one of the quarterbacks in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft (Drake Maye, who turns 22 in August), but he plays with a poise that makes his style such a fun dichotomy between the strange and fundamental.

His touch in the pocket and willingness to keep his eyes on the field while maneuvering are already rated on a positive level. Richardson loves to show off the work he does, leaping and leaping out of the pocket while also looking to hunt for throws, using his legs only as a last resort. It’s a very positive sign:

Even for plays that end up as incomplete (another reason to take raw completion percentage with a large grain of salt), Richardson’s size, athleticism, and athleticism maturity allow him to decrease negative plays and open doors for positive ones that would otherwise not be possible for a large portion of other QBs.

Richardson has recorded a 7.7% sack rate in 2023, and I’m optimistic that will drop given the improvement the Colts’ top five showed last season, with Richardson already showing the all-important ability to nullify sacks. This sack mitigation is something elite QBs exhibit on a weekly basis, but it’s not the only thing they exhibit. Richardson will also look for big plays, and that will make him an exciting player. He can fight and eat up yards quickly with his legs, but he also has the ability – and discreet accuracy – to attack the furthest points of a defense. Among the highlights are the details that point to a player who can be much more than a bazooka.

Here’s Richardson, in his first NFL start, stepping into the pocket and finding a checkdown on what should have been an efficient play before the running back fumbles:

Or gaining spaces to move the chains on third down, here using subtle eye movements to get a defender to soften up his undercoverage and make the first down much easier on himself:

When Richardson first looks at the receiver, it can end in a bang-bang play and a tackle before the first-down marker:

A look inside freezes #39:

And the ball is at the Colts receiver for a first down on third and middle before the defender can react:

Richardson’s arm was not a misguided weapon. He shows a strong understanding of the concepts being executed and his accuracy, especially on the field, can leave his teammates consistently open:

There is also a strong coaching and scheme led by Colts head coach Shane Steichen, who is fighting for a spot on the podium among the NFL’s best players. Between Steichen Occam’s razor-sharp scheme and Richardson’s surprising polish, Richardson has demonstrated a willingness to push the ball down the field and into the teeth of the defense on routes like seams and digs. Here he trusts his timing and reads the defense:

Or beating a free-running blitzer who wasn’t caught in protection, another example of Richardson’s arm talent and mind coming together:

This is the style of an efficient quarterback who can continually get on base against the defense before unleashing hell on a play-action concept or broken play. Even looking at rate metrics like success rate, when combined with visual testing of his overall game, Richardson was not only more explosive, but he was even more efficient than when the veteran Minshew was on the field. Forgive me for using another sports analogy to describe Richardson, but there are shots in these haymakers that will catch your eye. Speaking of which, let’s take another second to watch one of these highlights:

There is a schematic advantage in having a player who can attack all areas of the field and command the football. And Steichen, especially when the Colts entered the red zone, couldn’t wait to pull out the “quarterback run” part of the playbook. This included back-to-back runs designed for Richardson for touchdowns in Week 2 against the Houston Texans (also note the hit Richardson gets on the second score):

There are simply no players who can represent Richardson other than the most advanced defender on the field. The first run is a quarterback draw packed with a bubble route. When the linebacker (circled in red) leaves the area to chase the running back’s movement, Richardson’s read is to keep the ball, as there are no more defenders in the area to deal with him. The right guard pulls up to block the remaining linebacker in the box, and it’s Richardson at safety and it results in six points.

Of course, every coach can call a run between the tackles for any quarterback. But you feel a little better calling it Richardson than maybe someone like Minshew or Jacoby Brissett. Certain quarterbacks who have a special combination of size, athleticism and toughness – Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Richardson, Cam Newton, hell, even Culpepper – concepts like this draw can be called upon weekly in high-leverage moments that can generate first downs or put dots on the board:

These plays are easy buttons for a quarterback, a play-caller, and an entire offense, and they can reduce defensive coordinators and defenses to their basic teachings of soundness and tackling. In the hands of a capable play designer like Steichen and the Colts coaching staff, these back-to-back touchdowns against the Texans are just scratching the surface of what they can do with Richardson behind center.

There is a limit and a downside to this deal with the quarterback demon. Remember that hit Richardson threw on the (beautifully engineered) second touchdown? That hit, along with a few other unfortunate hits while handling the football, forced Richardson to forfeit three of his games and the entire 2023 season. For Richardson to remain on the path of a true needle-moving quarterback, with the advantage of a An eternal MVP candidate, he needs to learn to take care of his body and get off or get rid of the ball half a time faster. I’m optimistic that he’ll pick up the pace as a passer with more experience in different concepts, but the way he finishes plays as a runner is what I’m most focused on for the future of his career. Despite his incredible size, Richardson started and completed just one game last year because of the multiple injuries he suffered while facing NFL defenders. (Don’t let anyone tell you that the SEC is full of “NFL defenders.” The NFL is full of NFL defenders.) That final hit resulted in an AC joint injury in his throwing shoulder, prematurely ending his rookie campaign .

Richardson was already attending and participating in the Colts’ offseason program, but every day and game missed is exponentially more important for a young player like him. And he’s a player who needs to start racking up hundreds, not dozens, of plays to stay on the path to stardom.

Between Richardson’s lack of college experience and his short initial foray with the Colts, it’s easy to keep writing him off as something to be reserved for the distant future. But from glimpses of his short stint in 2023 and what the Colts are building on offense, if Richardson can stay on the field throughout his second season, he’ll have a chance to make a big statement in 2024. That’s why he’s my favorite. dark horse pick to win MVP in 2024. He’s like a gasoline-soaked metronome, with his supernova flashes combined with his understanding to do the little things of playing quarterback, already knowing that, at such a young age, simply tedious playing works. It’s impressive, methodical and, frankly, really cool to watch.

So there you have it: the rare athletic profile, a low-key mature style, another offseason with Steichen, a cohesive offensive line, a strong running game led by Jonathan Taylor (Taylor and Richardson shared the field for just one play in all of 2023). , plus a group of pass-catchers with a good mix of size (Michael Pittman Jr., pick a tight end), skill (Josh Downs, personal favorite Kylen Granson) and now an injection of high-octane talent in AD Mitchell.

You can see why I’m buying Richardson and the explosive environment he’s going to launch into this year. Now let’s keep him on the field so it’s all systems go.