Name: Anthony Richardson
Position: Quarterback
School: Florida
Height: 6’4″
Weight: 232 lbs
Games watched: vs. Utah (2022), vs. Tennessee (2022), vs. Kentucky (2022), vs. LSU (2022), vs. Georgia (2021), Georgia (2022)

It has been a rollercoaster type season for Anthony Richardson. He opened the season with a performance that had people talking about winning a Heisman. He did not quite live up to the hype the rest of the way, as Florida limped to a 6-7 finish that included a loss to Vanderbilt.

Despite the up and down season, Richardson still did plenty to grab the attention of NFL scouts. He threw for 2,549 yards, 17 touchdowns and 9 interceptions while completing 53.8 percent of his passes. He added 654 yards and 9 touchdowns on the ground. Those numbers don’t jump out as a clear first-round pick, but with the number of teams that need an upgrade at quarterback, Richardson will be highly sought after.

Pros

With the NFL moving more and more towards mobile quarterbacks, Richardson seems to fit the mold of the modern NFL. He can make plays with both his arm and his legs. His ability in the open field is special. He also has the arm strength to hit every spot on the field with ease. He has some room to grow in his pocket presence, but he has strong moments of stepping up in the pocket when he has the opportunity to. His pre-snap work is pretty strong. Florida ran a lot of pre-snap motion. Richardson also does a nice job of keeping his eyes downfield on the move and working from high to low in his reads. He did not do it a ton, but there are instances on his film where he freezes the safety with his eyes before throwing to his intended target. When he is in a rhythm, he does well anticipating outbreaking routes and hitting his receivers in stride.

Cons

Richardson’s biggest drawback is his accuracy, or lack thereof. His poor completion percentage underlines his inability to hit his receivers consistently. He has a tendency to miss high and long, which is always incredibly dangerous for a quarterback. His mechanics and footwork need a bit of refining. While pre-snap work is a strength, post-snap work is a bit of a weakness. He is slow working through his progression and is guilty of locking in on his first read. In addition to that, his film shows moments where he misses windows on timing routes because he waits for the receiver to get open. I would love to see him develop a bit more touch, especially on underneath routes. With that, his ball placement is spotty at best, as he struggles to throw to the correct side of receivers. He also has some communication issues with receivers, which lead to a pair of bad pick-sixes in the games I watched.

Synopsis

There is a scenario where Richardson becomes one the most dynamic quarterbacks in the NFL. His ceiling is incredibly high thanks to his physical profile, elite tools and otherworldly athleticism. However, he is raw and there is a more likely scenario where the game never slows down for him and his accuracy never improves and he finds himself out of the league by the end of his rookie contract. It is rare for quarterbacks to suddenly become more accurate in the NFL, but Josh Allen and Daniel Jones have done so recently. Or maybe that just means Brian Daboll is a wizard.

Ideal scheme fit: RPO-heavy offense

Grade: 82

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