Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson was one of the most intriguing, if not the most intriguing, players in the 2023 NFL Draft. His stock rose considerably coming out of the scouting combine, and his raw athletic ability had scouts envisioning him achieving greatness.
The Colts took him with the No. 4 pick and hoped he would become their first star quarterback since Andrew Luck retired following the 2018 season. Unfortunately, Richardson suffered a serious shoulder injury that ended his rookie campaign after just four games.
In those four games, he threw for just 577 yards and three touchdowns while completing 59.5 percent of his pass attempts. However, he did add 136 yards and four touchdowns on the ground in 25 rushing attempts.
People seem divided on whether Richardson is the real deal or not. Brad Gagnon of Bleacher Report outlined the two sides of the ledger for the University of Florida product while naming him the league’s third-most polarizing player.
“The upside: Just 22, the 2023 No. 4 overall pick is one of the most intriguing young athletes in professional sports,” Gagnon wrote.
“The downside: He missed most of his rookie season due to a shoulder injury and was banged up even before going down for the year. He’s, arguably, both fragile (or at least vulnerable) and raw, which is a lot to overcome with a decent-not-great roster.
“Key question(s): Can he stay on the field? If so, will he still need time to develop? Does he have enough support to accomplish that?”
Staying healthy will only be part of the battle for Richardson. He will also need to develop his passing abilities, and that may not be easy in terms of getting to the level of a Pro Bowl QB.
In his junior season at Florida, he threw for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns, which isn’t impressive to begin with, but he also only completed 53.8 percent of his pass attempts, which is rather poor.
Arguably his best performance in his abbreviated rookie year came in Week 4 against the Los Angeles Rams when he threw for 200 yards and two touchdowns and added 56 yards and a touchdown on the ground. However, he only completed 11 of 25 pass attempts.
The following week, he went nine of 12 for 98 yards before suffering the injury that aborted his year.
The Colts do have one of the best running backs around in Jonathan Taylor to take pressure off of Anthony Richardson. However, Taylor is injury-prone himself — he has missed 13 games over the last two years — and Gagnon named him the NFL’s sixth-most polarizing player.
Michael Pittman Jr. is a decent playmaker at the wide receiver spot, but the Indianapolis Colts don’t really have any next-level playmakers there, at least not yet. It could possibly be the thing that stunts Richardson’s growth and chances of reaching his potential.
