In addition to his athleticism, new Indianapolis Colts quarterback has been praised for his IQ. This pre-draft footage gives fans a look at Richardson’s IQ.
On Thursday, the Indianapolis Colts used the fourth-overall pick to select Anthony Richardson, in hopes that he can become the franchise’s next great quarterback. At 6-foot-4, 244 pounds, running a 4.43 40-yard dash, Richardson is already among the best athletes that ever played in the NFL. His athleticism played a big part in his pre-draft evaluations and everyone saw why.
Another thing about Richardson that teams were impressed by was his IQ. Leading up to the draft, there were reports that Richardson was consistently impressing teams in the football IQ part of the evaluations. Considering that most of those evaluations were behind doors, fans didn’t really get to be impressed with that part of Richardson’s game like they did his athleticism.
However, there was one pre-draft interview where Richardson gave the public a peek into his football mind. Sitting down with former NFL coach and current analyst, Steve Mariucci, Richardson participated in the famous 'Draw My Play' exam. In these segments, Mariucci brings in a quarterback prospect, immediately draws an NFL play on the white board, and then sits down to have a conversation with the quarterback. After some time passes by, and the prospect has discussed several different things, Mariucci asks them to draw up the play he showed them at the beginning.
I’m not sure how many people have seen this. I had to dig on NFL .com to find it but this is just one example of how smart Anthony Richardson is. He memorizes Mooch’s west coach offensive play which he admittedly was not familiar with before. AR is more than capable. #Colts pic.twitter.com/3lb2kMtF7Z
— Mr. Colt 🏈 (@TheRealMrColt) May 2, 2023
Richardson drew the play up perfectly, acing the exam. Now that he’s a member of the Colts, fans are going back to watch this footage and getting excited about their new quarterback.
Anthony Richardson shows off his football IQ
The mental aspect of the NFL can typically be a big hurdle for rookies, especially at the quarterback position. Since Richardson was drafted, he and head coach Shane Steichen have talked about how these next few months will be about Richardson digging into the playbook and trying to learn it to the best of his knowledge as quickly as he can.
If Richardson can get the playbook down quickly, and combine his knowledge with his other-worldly athleticism, he should be able to get on the field early and make an impact. Of course, the biggest question mark for Richardson was consistency in his accuracy. Elite athleticism and an understanding of the offense will provide Richardson with a high floor while he works to improve his throwing consistency.
READ MORE: Grading all 12 Colts draft picks in 2023