Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson could be a potential breakout candidate in fantasy football in 2024, but one analyst is pumping the brakes.
"I haven't drafted [Anthony Richardson] at all," ESPN's Mike Clay said Tuesday on "Fantasy Focus Football." "The earliest [Cincinnati Bengals QB] Joe Burrow has gone is 60th in our drafts. The latest Anthony Richardson has gone is 54th. As good as I think his ceiling is, I just think there's too many good values at QB."
Surprisingly, ESPN Fantasy ranks Richardson as its fourth-best QB, ahead of reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and 2023 passing touchdowns leader Dak Prescott. The site is banking on the 22-year-old's upside.
Richardson only played four games in 2023 before suffering a season-ending right shoulder injury. However, the fourth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft had seven touchdowns (three passing and four rushing) and scored 73 fantasy points via Pro-Football-Reference.
Though he missed the last day of the Colts' offseason program with right shoulder soreness, it doesn't seem like a huge concern.
Indianapolis general manager Chris Ballard recently told the "GM Shuffle" podcast that Richardson should be a "full go" for training camp on July 25.
Richardson must improve his accuracy. Last season, he completed 59.5% of his passes, below the league average (64.5%).
"Some of that is because he pushes the ball and takes chances," Yahoo Sports' Nate Tice said of Richardson's accuracy issues Tuesday on "The Jim Rome Show." "But some of that I think he can work on a little bit, and I think it will [improve] with more reps."
It appears Richardson is a boom-or-bust candidate. Fantasy players should consider drafting another viable starting QB as a fallback and think twice about passing on more proven signal-callers.
