Why is Anthony Richardson underrated heading into the 2023 NFL Draft?

Anthony Richardson is one of the most polarizing prospects in the entire 2023 NFL Draft, being considered from number 4 to number 19 overall, depending on who you ask. Plus, he’s considered the type of quarterback who can get you ousted for GM.

Anthony Richardson: a physical-athletic portent

Physically we’ve seen few prospects quite like Richardson. His measurements and stats both at the Combine and on the field are comparable to Cam Newton’s, something we’ve rarely seen in sports history. He ran 4.43 seconds at the Scouting Combine (97th percentile) and broke the quarterback record for both the 3-foot vertical jump and 10-foot longitudinal jump. On the field he broke tackles on 40% of his carries, tied with Bijan Robinson for this, real talent to win as a pure running back.

Despite the repetitive talk about his low ground that Richardson possesses, the fact that a QB can have these physical characteristics automatically gives him a high ground, as he can produce at a high level in the running game and keep the offense on the ball. an average level despite the defects that could present when throwing the ball.

Is Justin Fields the measure?

Justin Fields last season was one of the worst passers in the entire NFL with the third worst accuracy percentage behind Davis Mills and Derek Carr; He was also the sixth QB that generated the fewest big plays with his arm and the QB with the most passes thrown that could have been intercepted.

However, nobody cared that Fields threw so badly because at any moment he could carry the ball with his hands for more than 50 yards helping the offense to be above average despite his terrible performance as a pure QB. It was the same with Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in their first season as rookies who provided high ground for how they dominated on the ground.

Many say it will be impossible for Richardson to beat Justin Fields’ passing numbers and match his ground production, being a much better athlete than Justin Fields, as the Florida QB is physically a generational talent. Therefore, we must put aside the idea that it is impossible to play him in his first year: with the right system, it can be viable and even beneficial. These types of QBs, who aren’t smart at reading situations before the snap and simply react physically to plays, benefit from making mistakes, learning from them and improving over time.

Cases like Jalen Hurts, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Herbert all carried the same tag as inaccurate, incredible athletes, and poor decision-makers, so it would take him playing and learning his first year.

Precision, the big problem

It is certainly risky to take him up in the 2023 NFL Draft because of his terrible accuracy numbers, with 28% of his passes uncatchable for his WRs, in addition to his low completion percentage that worries general managers, and could even be a reason to turn elsewhere.

It also doesn’t help that his technique is terrible with his arm incredibly wide when he shoots, causing him to take 3.18 seconds to pass the ball, an unacceptable time in the NFL and one of the reasons why Justin Fields has been It’s so difficult to launch in the league. Also his feet could improve a lot. These are all completely valid reasons why Richardson could drop from the Top 5 to the Top 20.

Although accuracy is a concerning issue for Richardson and he will probably never be an accurate QB in the NFL, it is sometimes overrated when a QB can do magical things on the ground or has the ability to throw bullets beyond 60 yards that change completely a match, as is the case with Josh Allen. Last season, the Buffalo QB was an average QB in the CPOE statistic (percentage of completion passes over expectations) and even so, he was the QB that generated the most big plays with his arm. Likewise, Lamar Jackson, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady were considered statistically inaccurate QBs last season and were great passers who performed at an above-average level.

Are you going or not going with Anthony Richardson?

If I were the general manager, I would play this bet, since this type of player is what ends up differentiating a team between being a contending franchise with a good QB or being a winning franchise with an elite QB, because in the current NFL this is what moves the needle and wins championships.

In addition, there are many QB coaches that help improve all aspects of technique and precision that cannot possibly be learned in college. Finally, if Anthony Richardson ends up being a QB who can’t throw better than Justin Fields and is at historically bad levels like Zach Wilson, the GM who drafts him will walk away happy (maybe fired, but happy) because the drafting process was the correct one looking to maximize the value of the roster by going for the player with the highest upside of the whole class and with all the physical characteristics to win in the big leagues.

Ultimately, the draft is a game of probability, and betting on the prospect who has all the important points in his favor at the moment will always be the best decision.

What is your opinion of Anthony Richardson after this article? Would you like to see him on your team? We read you in the comments under this post and on our social networks.

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