Anthony Richardson’s performance as a starting QB for the Indianapolis Colts has had its ups and downs. PlayerProfiler’s #1 most athletic quarterback of all time certainly has put that big frame and 4.43 wheels to work — his 499 Rushing Yards in 11 games were the 6th best in the league last year, and 3rd best in Yards per Game. Richardson added another 6 rushing TD’s to end the season with about 7.8 fantasy points per game added via the running game alone. His passing,  on the other hand, was sparse and erratic. Richardson ended the season 33rd in the league in both pass attempts and passing yards but had the 9th most interceptions. Yipes. 

The future for Richardson is still unwritten, he could possibly take that Josh Allen leap, or he could be the next Blake Bortles. From what we can tell Shane Steichen has actually done a pretty fine job with Richardson’s development. Benching his starting QB after he posted a 31% completion rate week 8 vs Houston and then reinstating him by week 11 was a bit of an eyebrow raiser, but reports showed Richardson found motivation to compete and grow. Perhaps the upcoming preseason Quarterback battle will do the same. We’ve already heard links between Justin Fields and GM Chris Ballard — a move that would present offensive continuity between QB’s with similar skill sets. The draft should be interesting this year too, pick 14 in the first round might not be high enough for Jaxson Dart come draft day, and the draft capital is probably too high for a QB at this stage anyway. Ballard and Co. could grab Jalen Milroe in round 2… but they already have a Jalen Milroe in Anthony Richardson. My money is on Tyler Shough, another big bodied QB that can hurl the ball downfield, who is ironically 3 years older than Richardson and may be further along in his development. 

Author: Lukasz Stec (@Lukasz_FF01)