Anthony Richardson Scouting Report

By: Michael Higgins

(Image courtesy of James Gilbert/Getty Images)

School: Florida (Sophomore)

Position: QB

HT: 6’4

WT: 232 lbs

Sideline Prospect Ranking: #26

Anthony Richardson was a 4-star dual threat quarterback out of Gainesville, Florida in high school. Richardson opted to stay home and committed to play football for the Florida Gators. As soon as he arrived on campus, his talent and potential was obvious, it just had to be all put together. It is clear that Anthony Richardson has already become the most polarizing player in the 2023 NFL Draft. He has some great natural talent and physical traits. For starters, he is a big body dual-threat quarterback. If he started Day 1, which is more than unlikely, he would struggle greatly. Give Richardson time to learn a system and learn behind a veteran guy and in two years time he will be ready to take over. His ability to run the ball is undeniable. His big frame combined with his speed and elusiveness makes it near impossible to tackle him. He will be a top 3 rushing quarterback in the league the day he is drafted, he’s just so talented with the ball in his hands. He is always the fastest man on the field. Richardson also has an absolute cannon for an arm. He can effortlessly launch the ball 65 yards in the air without breaking a sweat. It is rare that we see a guy with this arm talent combined with the running ability that we see out of Anthony Richardson. These talents are so extreme that he has the potential to be the best quarterback in this draft class when their careers are all said and done.

With that being said, potential does not equal production and Anthony Richardson will have to put it all together at the next level to prove that the hype was warranted. The reason that all these physical traits haven’t resulted in Richardson being the consensus QB1 is because he could not put it all together at Florida. His 2022 campaign definitely showed glimpses of greatness but it was supposed to be something special and he just couldn’t put it together for one reason or another. Richardson has some incredible plays that nobody else in college football can make, and maybe only 3 people on the planet can do some of the things he does. However, he will follow those great plays up with inexplicable errors. He struggles to read defenses and will often throw it right into the defender’s lap. He has his struggles hitting his receivers in stride and sometimes completely misses his mark.

Richardson has all of the tools and traits to be a franchise quarterback for whoever drafts him, but he is going to have to play smarter and avoid making these inexplicably bad throws. If he can just play his game and make the easy throws that are presented to him, you will see him flourish. Expect him to be taken in the 1st round by a team who has a short term fix at quarterback but is looking for their long term answer.

Scheme Fit: RPO Heavy

Ideal Role: Developmental backup QB for a season before taking over in his 2nd year

Best Team Fits: NYJ, TB, DET

Player Comparison: Lamar Jackson

Player Grade: 84.1