Could Alabama's Jalen Milroe replace Anthony Richardson for the Colts?

The Indianapolis Colts have a real problem at quarterback. The quarterback who was supposed to be the future of the franchise, Anthony Richardson, seriously struggled in 2024 - so much so, that he ended up being benched midseason. He showed some improvement after returning, but it's become clear that 2025 is his last chance in Indianapolis to prove he has what it takes to lead a team.

With the 2024 regular season over, attention is now being directed towards the 2025 NFL Draft, and what Indianapolis can do to help the team move forward into becoming a legitimate playoff contender. Some have argued that the Colts should consider finding a new quarterback to replace Richardson - an idea which only gained more steam after general manager Chris Ballard said he wants to bring in competition at quarterback.

Jake Arthur at SI seems to agree, suggesting the Colts consider drafting Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe as a Richardson alternative. It's a controversial pick, as scouts and analysts seem to have vastly differing opinions on Milroe's potential. But for Arthur, he sees Milroe as someone with similar athleticism to Richardson, and slightly more experience in college. Yet Milroe isn't just like Richardson in his athleticism - he also has problems with his accuracy, raising more questions about how good of a prospect he would actually be for Indianapolis.

"Milroe isn't a perfect player by any means, hence the reason for him likely needing a season to acclimate to the NFL," Arthur argued. "His biggest issue is his inconsistency as a passer, but he already has the right mentality to make himself better."

Milroe might be a good project in the NFL, but not for the Colts. Yes, Milroe could be dedicated to doing whatever necessary to improve... but there is every indication that the exact same could be said about Richardson. Wide receiver Michael Pittman, Jr. praised Richardson in a recent interview, specifically pointing out how hard Richardson has worked to come back after his benching.

"AR, I feel like is taking the right steps, like just like he's working with people that he thinks are gonna help him get to that next level," he said. "And you know, like everything that happened throughout the season, I mean, I felt like he handled everything great, right? Because at times it felt like everybody was throwing shots at him. He's such a young guy, but the way that he handled that with his professionalism, how he showed up every single day, he didn't sulk, and he showed up, and worked and those are the kind of things that keep me hopeful for him that I think we're going to see improvement in him. Because one, he's just... he wants to be that guy that he knows that he can be. And that guy that all of us know that he can be."

For Richardson himself, he has already begun his offseason training, even though official practice hasn't started yet. He's also partnered with Chris Hess, a biometric specialist that Josh Allen credits with the improvement in his career. Allen had similar struggles as Richardson at the beginning of his NFL career, and said working with Hess is what led to his meteoric rise as an NFL superstar.

If there was a more obvious superstar available in this year's draft class, an argument for Indianapolis to pursue them could be made. But drafting one problematic and inaccurate quarterback to replace another problematic and inaccurate quarterback doesn't make much sense. Richardson, it seems, is already putting in the work to help himself improve, and the Colts would be much better suited to drafting someone like Tyler Warren or Colston Loveland, which would not only help Richardson, but would give much-needed depth to the near-useless tight end room.

Arthur argued that doing nothing at QB is the only bad thing that the Colts could do, and that may be a good point. But Indianapolis would be much better off looking to take someone in free agency that can offer actual competition, like Justin Fields, rather than gambling on another person with all the athleticism and potential in the world, but not much yet to show for it. We already drafted Anthony Richardson once; do we really need to draft a copy of him a second time?