The Indianapolis Colts took a chance on the polarizing Anthony Richardson. He has the potential to be Indy’s next franchise quarterback.
After almost a half-decade of turnover at the league's most important position, the Indianapolis Colts are finally hopeful to establish some continuity at starting quarterback as they look to turn Florida's Anthony Richardson into their next franchise QB.
Colts general manager Chris Ballard was quoted when discussing the optics surrounding the fourth-overall pick amidst the Scouting Combine's media session(s) saying, "I think we'll get the best player in the draft to be quite honest with you." This isn't to fit a narrative, but rather, to showcase just how highly NFL executives and scouts view Richardson as a prospect.
Richardson's lackluster completion percentage (53.8%) is certainly something left to be desired, but it's almost exclusively used as an end-all-be-all analysis as to why he's not worthy of a top-10 selection. As a reminder, when analyzing and projecting a prospect's impact from college to the league, merely sifting through box scores and raw numbers is malpractice for the evaluation process.
Being paired with the young, offensive-minded phenom that is new Colts HC Shane Steichen, the guy who turned Jalen Hurts and his uninspiring accuracy into an MVP candidate, should bode extremely well for Richardson and his similar faults.
Anthony Richardson not only proved he possesses the traits, athleticism, and mental fortitude necessary for an NFL translation, but he showcased immense improvement over the latter half of his one season as a starting QB in the SEC. In a 12-game season, Richardson's improvement as a passer throughout the year was evident. So much so that his first six games compared to his last six were a night and day comparison, at least as far as generic production goes:
First six Weeks: 5 touchdowns, 7 interceptions
Last six Weeks: 12 touchdowns, 2 interceptions (a stretch which met four ranked opponents)
Obviously there are examples throughout history where any QB has turned it around at the halfway point of the season in which they declared, however, when you're already betting on a youthful prospect as 'raw' as Richardson, any improvement regrardless of sample size is necessary to consider.
Richardson's lone full season as a starter was additionally diffcult to adapt to given he was thrown into a new offensive scheme from a season ago. Not to mention, his supporting cast of pass catchers were objectively a weaker group. Despite these factors, Richardson was able to grow and prove his worth during his 2022 campaign as a 20-year-old quarterback in the SEC.
With any new quarterback that is drafted, all of the fans of his new team are itching for one thing and one thing only, and it's not thoroughly researched analysis, it's the highlights. So without further ado, let's take a look at Anthony Richardson's best plays during his college career.