There have been a lot of comparisons between Anthony Richardson, quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts, and Josh Allen, quarterback for the Buffalo Bills. Both have immense power and talent. Both are elite-level athletes. And both have struggled in their first years in the NFL.
Allen has skyrocketed to a position as one of the best QBs in the NFL. Richardson is still struggling, and the 2025 season is largely considered his last chance to show the improvement needed to keep his job as Indianapolis' starting quarterback. He's already begun practicing, even though the official offseason practice schedule has yet to begin.
But as Richardson prepares to go to Florida, it turns out he'll have an extra hand there to help him improve: the same person who improved Allen's game. According to ESPN's Stephen Holder, Richardson will be working with Chris Hess.
A biometric specialist, Hess worked closely with Allen after his similarly-disastrous start in the NFL. Using a a 3D Motion Capture system, Hess had Allen throw every route possible, do numerous exercises, and even step on dual force plates. All of this, put together, gave Hess insight into everything Allen: how his body worked, the ground forces Allen uses to produce movement, how his joints and body work together, even his passing velocity.
Through this, Hess was able to determine that, despite all of Allen's raw talent, his biomechanics were off. “He was leading with the upper body and just throwing with basically all arm,” Hess said. Together with Allen's quarterback coach, they worked on getting Allen to fix his deficiencies.
And it worked.
A biometric specialist, and a whole lot of reps 💪
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) January 9, 2025
A deep dive on how @JoshAllenQB reined in his rocket arm, fixing his rookie year accuracy issues 👀 pic.twitter.com/EL6wQmiRWl
"My second year in the league met with a guy named Chris Hess," Allen recalled, and added, "Chris shows you examples of how efficient you should be. I was like, you know what? In order for everything to kind of like time up better, I'm going to try to drop my arm a little bit and just slow down this process. And what that got me to do was again the disassociation. So now once I, once I start my throwing motion, get my foot in the ground quick, this is going and this is still coming around."
Allen called Hess "the most influential person in my mechanical career," and credited him with his dramatic improvement in completions. Now, Hess will be working with Anthony Richardson.
Holder said Richardson will be looking to improve specific areas of his game play, and Hess will hopefully work the same magic he was able to create with Allen once again.
"When Richardson returns to his offseason training in Florida, he'll be working on very specific areas of improvement with his team of coaches and trainers. Among them: refining his throws on short and intermediate routes and throwing with more touch. He'll be focusing on overall technique as well, such as his sometimes-sloppy footwork."Stephen Holder
It has consistently been said that Richardson loves the game of football, and that he's willing to do whatever it takes to improve. Knowing that he is working with Hess, and beginning to practice early, are all good signs indicating that he's willing to do whatever it takes to give his team the accuracy and leadership they need to see from him.
No one has doubted that Richardson has potential; he has shown flashes of brilliance that tease the possibility of a great QB. The question is whether or not he can unlock all that potential and turn it into the real thing, and with Hess behind him, it seems that Richardson is that much more likely to be what he has promised to be: the best version of himself for his team.