Anthony Richardson

Pos: Quarterback

School: Florida

Ht. 6’4″ 

Wt. 231

Games Watched: Kentucky, Tennessee, Florida State, Utah

One Liner: God-given Athletic Ability and arm talent with good football IQ and awareness that needs time to refine the nuances of the position.

Strengths: 

  • Elite arm talent, as Richardson can throw from just about any arm slot with relative ease, regardless of body positioning or pressure. Elite velocity on all throws and can zip the pass through coverages.
  • Elite build and frame. Third Quartile height, weight and speed traits as he clocked a 4.48 40 yard dash coming out of high school. At 6’4 231, he possesses a generational frame that has and will continue to help him in the pocket.
  • Elite athletic ability as a runner and can break through tackles while lowering the shoulder creating plays on the run
  • Very good toughness as a runner and a passer. Running with ball, Richardson is unafraid to tuck the shoulder and reach for extra yardage, while also being conservative when needing to slide. As a thrower, he responds well to hands in his face with pressure closing in and maintains a solid read on the field under duress.
  • Good pocket presence as he steps up in the pocket when needed, without becoming frantic when pressured. Lateral movements in the pocket are not as strong as his vertical movements, but keeps head on a swivel when he drops back
  • Good ability to scan the field once the ball is in his hands and progresses through his reads from sideline to sideline without focusing in on one route. Has nice eye discipline for a one year starter and can manipulate DB’s.
  • Solid short route accuracy against Zone and Man coverages. Playing in an RPO and Play Action heavy offense in Florida, Richardson made quick reads and got the ball out in the right place as he used good ability to scan the field to make safe and sound throws.

Weaknesses:

  • Adequate to marginal accuracy when throwing the ball past 10-15 yards. Can be frantic with throwing the ball, using sheer arm talent on medium passes against off and press man coverages to fit passes in a window.
  • When throwing deep passes, he is easily tricked by zone concepts such as moving safeties in Quarters and disguises by the secondary in zone coverage
  • Adequate decision making. Will play hero ball in late game situations as he made erratic throws on the run and forcing passes with his arm talent rather than football IQ
  • Adequate Body Mechanics. Oftentimes throws sidearm on short and medium passes, another reason why he misses some open throws. Throwing motions come straight from his arm and doesn’t use fully body when throwing the ball which causes it to be thrown off track at times.
  • Lacks starting experience.

Overall Assessment: Anthony Richardson is an extremely talented yet raw quarterback prospect. He has generational intangible traits that catches the attention of just about any NFL team. He needs to be coached up, throwing only 393 passes in his collegiate career. His inexperience is clear on tape, as he has marginal technique development. His traits propel him to be a plus prospect, but he will need a a year or two as well as a scheme friendly offense that will tailor to his strengths. Richardson started the season strong, with a great outing against Tennessee, but soon fell back to earth as he started playing hero ball and made erratic decisions in late game situations. Richardson would have strongly benefited by spending another year in school, but I could still see him solidifying his way into the early to mid first round with a strong Combine and Pro Day performance to affirm his intangibles. A weak showing here could drop him down to the 3rd-4th round. It will be interesting to see the perspective on Richardson in NFL circles but I could see him being viewed as a raw, talented Josh Allen-type prospect. A play action offense would suit Richardson.

Scheme Fit: Run Heavy Play Action Offense

Pick Projection: Early First

Grade: 6.71