Anthony Richardson’s film, albeit limited, doesn’t lie. There’s supernova talent and plays waiting for the Colts

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

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 244 pounds (but saying he’s now carrying north of 250) while also putting on a show at the NFL scouting combine a year ago, Richardson has few comparisons, not just in recent memory but historically, in regards to 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) when coming out of college, and it’s easy to look at his rookie year box score that contains four starts, 84 pass attempts and a sub-60% completion percentage and feel no need to peel that label off any time soon. But that project term was never fitting for Richardson’s actual style and feel for playing quarterback. It wasn’t when he was in Gainesville and it still isn’t after what he showed in under 200 professional snaps.

Richardson is a big player with a propensity for making big plays with his arm and legs. He is not some Shawn Kemp-like power player hunting 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 baseline than his limited experience suggests. It’s a baseline that makes the path that much smoother to reaching his cosmos-scraping ceiling.

Richard turned 22 in May. He is younger than every quarterback who went in Round 1 of this year’s NFL Draft besides one (Drake Maye, who turns 22 in August), but he plays with a poise that makes his style such a fun dichotomy between the freaky and the fundamental.

His feel in the pocket and willingness to keep his eyes downfield while maneuvering already rate at a plus-level….


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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-20 06:11:10

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