Thoughts on Anthony Richardson?

[Lost]

I don't watch much college ball so I really knew anything about this guy until I saw Chris Brown and Tasker talking about him on One Bills Live.  Guy is built like a linebacker and appears to have an arm like Allen.   Anyone here watched him in college that can provide some insight on what kind of player he is since we'll be seeing a lot of him on Saturday?  Is he future all pro or bust?

[Royale with Cheese]

Just now, Lost said:

I don't watch much college ball so I really knew anything about this guy until I saw Chris Brown and Tasker talking about him on One Bills Live.  Guy is built like a linebacker and appears to have an arm like Allen.   Anyone here watched him in college that can provide some insight on what kind of player he is since we'll be seeing a lot of him on Saturday?  Is he future all pro or bust?

 

I think there are more options than just the two.

 

He's basically an athletic freak that they're going to try to mold into an NFL QB.

 

Most of these projects don't work out and I honestly think that Josh Allen has helped these types of QB's because of his success.

[wppete]

He looks impressive. If he is coached well and protected well I think he has a bright future. The Colts have the blueprint from the Bills and how the coaches up Josh Allen. Excited to see him play. He was my favourite QB in the draft. 

[Cray51]

1 minute ago, Lost said:

I don't watch much college ball so I really knew anything about this guy until I saw Chris Brown and Tasker talking about him on One Bills Live.  Guy is built like a linebacker and appears to have an arm like Allen.   Anyone here watched him in college that can provide some insight on what kind of player he is since we'll be seeing a lot of him on Saturday?  Is he future all pro or bust?

I find him to have a much higher chance of “bust” over all pro.  He has tools, but struggles reading defenses which - imo - is the single most critical factor in high end QB play.

 

The other thing is - he is a big dude, but is he going to run with that emphasis that Allen does.  Will he carry that reckless abandon into the NFL, so he can be a dynamic rushing threat.

 

I absolutely think he is a stash in a QB keeper situation, as he has a small chance of putting it all together. However, I’m not convinced he can

[Captain Hindsight]

4 minutes ago, wppete said:

He looks impressive. If he is coached well and protected well I think he has a bright future. The Colts have the blueprint from the Bills and how the coaches up Josh Allen. Excited to see him play. He was my favourite QB in the draft. 

Mine too. Big swing type of guy. Seems to have the tools to succeed. Good coach for him too

[Beck Water]

The press is really hyping up his "first start against the Buffalo Bills" and his desire to "get the W".  Dude, it's preseason.  The Bills best two offensive players have already been ruled out by the coach.

 

Meanwhile Thursday in practice:

Quote

Richardson will be looking to rebound from a rough practice on Thursday. The Colts were in helmets and shorts for a light practice before traveling to Buffalo. But Richardson and the first-team offense struggled, going 5-of-12 (41.7%) passing with some drops and would-be sacks given up.

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Beck Water

[wppete]

1 minute ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Mine too. Big swing type of guy. Seems to have the tools to succeed. Good coach for him too

Patience and coaching him up is the key. Also  the colts need to sign Jonathan Taylor and run the ball hard. He can live off the play action for the first year. 

[NewEra]

Impressive athlete.  Terrible QB.  
 

He landed in what I believe is the best possible spot for himself, with Shane Steichen.  

We’ll find out if Steichen is the truth with this guy.  

[KDIGGZ]

He will be a TE in 2 years. We have had a couple of those guys on our team in the past

[SCBills]

I follow UF a good bit and typically go to a game every year.  Saw him in Gainesville last year against Utah and he's basically rookie year Josh Allen..  A lot of inaccuracy and bad decision making, but makes the wow plays every game that get you bought in.  

[Big Turk]

Athletic freak that is faster than Allen but is very inconsistent and might not ever be that good. Will depend on how hard he wants to work to develop and how capable he is of changing what needs to be changed. Could see him being Zach Wilson 2.0

Edited August 11, 2023 by Big Turk

[BuffaloBillyG]

I project that he will get a lot of hype because of his Fantasy Football value, but I don't think it will translate to on the field success. At least not this season.

[Captain Hindsight]

4 minutes ago, SCBills said:

I follow UF a good bit and typically go to a game every year.  Saw him in Gainesville last year against Utah and he's basically rookie year Josh Allen..  A lot of inaccuracy and bad decision making, but makes the wow plays every game that get you bought in.  

Thats why I like him. Drafting a QB that high you are going to get one of two guys

 

Polished player, great skill set, great leadership - Luck, Lawrence, but also guys like Darnold and Mayfield

 

Guy with incredible gifts but erratic and relies too much on athleticism - Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, RG3

 

With Young and Stroud gone the Colts had to take Richardson. He might flop, but its worth the risk IMO

[Lost]

Just now, Captain Hindsight said:

Thats why I like him. Drafting a QB that high you are going to get one of two guys

 

Polished player, great skill set, great leadership - Luck, Lawrence, but also guys like Darnold and Mayfield

 

Guy with incredible gifts but erratic and relies too much on athleticism - Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, RG3

 

With Young and Stroud gone the Colts had to take Richardson. He might flop, but its worth the risk IMO

 

and J.P. Losman 😂

[Drew21PA]

Feel all these QBs bust from this draft.  

[The Jokeman]

48 minutes ago, Lost said:

I don't watch much college ball so I really knew anything about this guy until I saw Chris Brown and Tasker talking about him on One Bills Live.  Guy is built like a linebacker and appears to have an arm like Allen.   Anyone here watched him in college that can provide some insight on what kind of player he is since we'll be seeing a lot of him on Saturday?  Is he future all pro or bust?

He started one year in the NCAA and was sporatic passer at best that said Florida isn't thriving with elite WR either. Yet with his size and measurables he could be another Cam Newton on the upside, on the downside Marcus Mariotta. 

Edited August 11, 2023 by The Jokeman

[JerseyBills]

Not a big CFB guy but said leading up to the draft, he'd be the first qb I take. His potential is sky high but floor is very low. If he has the right coaching and system,  he'll be really good in a cpl years

[Bill from NYC]

I saw him just a few times when he played Alabama.  He is a (imho) more of an athlete than a QB. At least this is what I thought when watching him. I have a couple of friends that are Florida Fans. They were very high on him at first but trusted him less as time passed. 

That said, for all I know he will be great.

 

[Captain Hindsight]

34 minutes ago, Lost said:

 

and J.P. Losman 😂

Of course. Its not fool proof, but Darnold was that cant miss perfect prospect and hes on his 3rd team

[Cray51]

33 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

Of course. Its not fool proof, but Darnold was that cant miss perfect prospect and hes on his 3rd team

That's because the equation for a QB is incredibly difficult to solve, and its misunderstood.  People get caught up in "Pretty technique" and "Athleticism", but struggle to grade IMO the most important part of a QB - his mental ability.  Wonderlik is a joke, so we dont have any sort of really good measure for the person's ability to digest information real time and make a decision.

 

A QB has the impact in a play for about 3-4 seconds.  I'd say 50% of that impact is completely mental - little athleticism or technique physically impacts 50% of the outcome of the QBs role in a play.  The other 50% is split between pre throw physicals (ability to take the snap, drop back, work the pocket, scramble), and the throw itself (technique, velocity, accuracy).

 

Darnold had beautiful technique, and decent physicals.  However, he couldnt process the game well enough to utilize those fundamentals.

 

Richardson has incredible physicals.  However, I haven't seen him read defenses in a way that he can be an upper echelon QB.  

 

[Captain Hindsight]

17 minutes ago, Cray51 said:

That's because the equation for a QB is incredibly difficult to solve, and its misunderstood.  People get caught up in "Pretty technique" and "Athleticism", but struggle to grade IMO the most important part of a QB - his mental ability.  Wonderlik is a joke, so we dont have any sort of really good measure for the person's ability to digest information real time and make a decision.

 

A QB has the impact in a play for about 3-4 seconds.  I'd say 50% of that impact is completely mental - little athleticism or technique physically impacts 50% of the outcome of the QBs role in a play.  The other 50% is split between pre throw physicals (ability to take the snap, drop back, work the pocket, scramble), and the throw itself (technique, velocity, accuracy).

 

Darnold had beautiful technique, and decent physicals.  However, he couldnt process the game well enough to utilize those fundamentals.

 

Richardson has incredible physicals.  However, I haven't seen him read defenses in a way that he can be an upper echelon QB.  

 

It should be interesting to see his development. Always rooting for the guy, the league is better with more good Qbs

[starrymessenger]

He will be great...if he can read a defence. 

[Chaos]

Like JoshAllen, Richardson excelled on the S2 cognitive test.  Richardson could be a superstar at some point. 

[HappyDays]

The advantage he has, similar to Josh Allen as a rookie, is that he can use his pure athletic ability to cover for gaps in his skill set while he figures out how to play QB in the pros. It's going to be a wild ride throughout his rookie season and likely continuing into next year. Beyond that it's all up to how hard he works and how well the coaching staff and front office build the team around him. If I were him I would hire Jordan Palmer yesterday, if he didn't already.

[Malazan]

2 hours ago, wppete said:

He looks impressive. If he is coached well and protected well I think he has a bright future. The Colts have the blueprint from the Bills and how the coaches up Josh Allen. Excited to see him play. He was my favorite QB in the draft. 

 

There is no blueprint. What worked for Allen and the Bills is "impossible" (sooo many variables) to reproduce and is not guaranteed to work for someone else. There's a reason there's so much voodoo around why one talented (and driven) player succeeds where another fails. 

 

8 minutes ago, HappyDays said:

The advantage he has, similar to Josh Allen as a rookie, is that he can use his pure athletic ability to cover for gaps in his skill set while he figures out how to play QB in the pros. It's going to be a wild ride throughout his rookie season and likely continuing into next year. Beyond that it's all up to how hard he works and how well the coaching staff and front office build the team around him. If I were him I would hire Jordan Palmer yesterday, if he didn't already.

 

His personal QB coach is Will Hewlett and he also contracted Denny Thompson to prepare for the draft. 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Malazan

[OldTimer1960]

He will run for a lot of yards tomorrow.  The Bills will be evaluating pass rushers and won’t play to contain Richardson in the pocket.

[PBF81]

2 hours ago, Lost said:

I don't watch much college ball so I really knew anything about this guy until I saw Chris Brown and Tasker talking about him on One Bills Live.  Guy is built like a linebacker and appears to have an arm like Allen.   Anyone here watched him in college that can provide some insight on what kind of player he is since we'll be seeing a lot of him on Saturday?  Is he future all pro or bust?

 

He was among the SEC's worst passers.  

 

That's why Shorter may be underrated.  

 

 

2 hours ago, Royale with Cheese said:

I think there are more options than just the two.

 

He's basically an athletic freak that they're going to try to mold into an NFL QB.

 

Most of these projects don't work out and I honestly think that Josh Allen has helped these types of QB's because of his success.

 

Josh is a whole lot more intelligent than almost all QBs coming out though too.  

 

 

[PBF81]

2 hours ago, Drew21PA said:

Feel all these QBs bust from this draft.  

 

That's the rule though, not the exception.  

 

I don't disagree.  

 

 

1 hour ago, Cray51 said:

That's because the equation for a QB is incredibly difficult to solve, and its misunderstood.  People get caught up in "Pretty technique" and "Athleticism", but struggle to grade IMO the most important part of a QB - his mental ability.  Wonderlik is a joke, so we dont have any sort of really good measure for the person's ability to digest information real time and make a decision.

 

A QB has the impact in a play for about 3-4 seconds.  I'd say 50% of that impact is completely mental - little athleticism or technique physically impacts 50% of the outcome of the QBs role in a play.  The other 50% is split between pre throw physicals (ability to take the snap, drop back, work the pocket, scramble), and the throw itself (technique, velocity, accuracy).

 

Darnold had beautiful technique, and decent physicals.  However, he couldnt process the game well enough to utilize those fundamentals.

 

Richardson has incredible physicals.  However, I haven't seen him read defenses in a way that he can be an upper echelon QB.  

 

 

And here are his negatives according to NFL.com's draft profile;  

 

- Inconsistency and inaccuracy made it hard for him to have sustained success.

- Could use a better feel for the timing of his progressions.

- Needs to take some spice off short throws.

- Below average touch and ball placement rolling out.

- Hasn’t learned to manipulate coverage with his eyes.

- Struggles to paint intermediate zone holes with anticipatory throws.

- Accuracy issues are often a function of poor footwork.

- Loses track of coverage and will throw into danger.

- Too willing to flip the ball out instead of taking a sack.

 

From another draft profile; 

 

Weaknesses:

- Extremely inaccurate as a passer

- Consistently misses routine completions

- Has a lot of passes go high

- Needs to improve ability to make finesse throws

- Struggles to throw a catchable ball in the short to intermediate field

- Can get rattled by his own play, defenses, the flow of the game

- Sometimes holds the ball too long

- Ball security

- Decision-making needs to improve

- Plays down to opponents

- Struggled against good defenses

- Inexperienced; only 1-year starter

 

Those are very difficult things, particularly collectively, to coach up to the extent that he'll be worth the 4th overall pick.  

 

 

[Buffalo716]

9 minutes ago, OldTimer1960 said:

He will run for a lot of yards tomorrow.  The Bills will be evaluating pass rushers and won’t play to contain Richardson in the pocket.

Or you can evaluate how well they set the edge and keep him contained

 

Or go belichick and blitz him into the ground lol 

 

Bottom line : Richardson is the most physically talented and imposing in the draft .. he is huge and can REALLY MOVE... Teams are gonna have a hard time stopping him running 

 

As for his passing ability... Yes, he has a legitimate missile launcher attached to his body.. he can technically drop the ball anywhere on the field basically 

 

He doesn't have a lot of starts under his belt , so he's still green ... And he has to clean up some footwork... And I can see why tons of people will compare him to JA17

 

but lightning rarely strikes twice ... And there is only 1 JA17.... 

 

so I'm gonna say he starts pretty decent to his career because his legs but it goes wayside and he can't throw from the pocket to last as a starter 

[Cray51]

53 minutes ago, Captain Hindsight said:

It should be interesting to see his development. Always rooting for the guy, the league is better with more good Qbs

Absolutely - and dynamic physical QBs are incredibly exciting

[OldTimer1960]

2 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

Or you can evaluate how well they set the edge and keep him contained

 

Or go belichick and blitz him into the ground lol 

 

Bottom line : Richardson is the most physically talented and imposing in the draft .. he is huge and can REALLY MOVE... Teams are gonna have a hard time stopping him running 

 

As for his passing ability... Yes, he has a legitimate missile launcher attached to his body.. he can technically drop the ball anywhere on the field basically 

 

He doesn't have a lot of starts under his belt , so he's still green ... And he has to clean up some footwork... And I can see why tons of people will compare him to JA17

 

but lightning rarely strikes twice ... And there is only 1 JA17.... 

 

so I'm gonna say he starts pretty decent to his career because his legs but it goes wayside and he can't throw from the pocket to last as a starter 

Agree that is a big possibility.  I was specifically talking about tomorrow’s preseason game, but you may well be right long term.

 

[Buffalo716]

1 minute ago, OldTimer1960 said:

Agree that is a big possibility.  I was specifically talking about tomorrow’s preseason game, but you may well be right long term.

 

I'm saying tomorrow.. McDermott can evaluate the defensive ends by their ability to contain the edge and him

 

You don't need to pin back and rush him... Keep him bottled in the pocket and he will struggle ... He wants to leave the pocket 

[Bleeding Bills Blue]

32 minutes ago, Buffalo716 said:

Or you can evaluate how well they set the edge and keep him contained

 

Or go belichick and blitz him into the ground lol 

 

Bottom line : Richardson is the most physically talented and imposing in the draft .. he is huge and can REALLY MOVE... Teams are gonna have a hard time stopping him running 

 

As for his passing ability... Yes, he has a legitimate missile launcher attached to his body.. he can technically drop the ball anywhere on the field basically 

 

He doesn't have a lot of starts under his belt , so he's still green ... And he has to clean up some footwork... And I can see why tons of people will compare him to JA17

 

but lightning rarely strikes twice ... And there is only 1 JA17.... 

 

so I'm gonna say he starts pretty decent to his career because his legs but it goes wayside and he can't throw from the pocket to last as a starter 

 

Being big and fast will only get you so far.  In fact its likely to get you injured and sacked a lot tbh.  

[starrymessenger]

What Allen was able to accomplish is rare, maybe even unprecedented. And clearly not all supremely talented youngsters make it, especially when it comes to playing the all important position. I wouldn't call it an opinion because I haven't done more than see from a distance a little of his game tape, highlights, pre-draft film studies. But my impression is that he looks a carbon copy of Josh Allen at the time Allen came into the league. They have the same physical attributes. They have a similar developmental history, which is to say that they are totally green lacking the prep that first round QBs have normally enjoyed. What's more, the things that require work are again exactly the same, notably mechanics/footwork when the question is accuracy passing the football, developing touch etc... An important similarity is that the tape shows that both are capable of executing properly, making the right reads, and accurately throwing the football with good mechanics - as with Josh the hope is that with coaching and hard work his game can find the level of consistency needed to succeed. 
Allen's incredible athleticism puts him a cut above the competition from the get go. It's an essential attribute. It bought him time to learn the position. Richardson has that.
Richardson is reputed to have a good head on his shoulders. We'll see how it works out.

Edited August 11, 2023 by starrymessenger

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

21 minutes ago, starrymessenger said:

accurately throwing the football

 

 

[Florida Bills Fanatic]

I saw him play one game in Gainsville.  My first impression was that he plays a lot like Vince Young.  He makes one read and then he runs.  Every pass was a 90 MPH fastball with no touch.  His best passes were to his right or in the middle of the field.  Passes to the left third of the field were mostly poorly thrown.  When he chooses to run, defenses better get him early because he's no joke when he gets rolling.

[Mr. WEO]

Carson Wentz…

[Albany,n.y.]

8 hours ago, Chaos said:

Like JoshAllen, Richardson excelled on the S2 cognitive test.  Richardson could be a superstar at some point. 

5 QBs were ahead of Richardson:  https://247sports.com/longformarticle/nfl-draft-2023-bryce-young-jake-haener-lead-wonderlic-replacement-s2-scores-for-rookie-qb-class-208895756/#2158087

1) Young 98%

2) Haener 96%

3) Levis 93%

3) Hall 93%

5) Tune 84%

6)  Richardson 79%

7) Hooker 46%

8)Stroud 18%

Josh mid 90s (I couldn't find the exact score) 

 

[Chaos]

Just now, Albany,n.y. said:

5 QBs were ahead of Richardson:  https://247sports.com/longformarticle/nfl-draft-2023-bryce-young-jake-haener-lead-wonderlic-replacement-s2-scores-for-rookie-qb-class-208895756/#2158087

1) Young 98%

2) Haener 96%

3) Levis 93%

3) Hall 93%

5) Tune 84%

6)  Richardson 79%

7) Hooker 46%

8)Stroud 18%

Josh mid 90s (I couldn't find the exact score) 

 

and none have anywhere Richardson's physical skill set. 9) Albany,n.y. 17%

[Ayjent]

I watched every game he played, and at first I couldn’t understand why Emory Jones was playing ahead of him and then he started to play more and you saw a guy that was easily rattled, inaccurate, and mistake prone. For all of his athletic pluses, there were things that were just incredibly bad about his play.  He didn’t seem like the guy that stepped up in the moment and instead crumbled.  And I will say I was thinking he was going to be a superstar after the Utah game to start last year, and then the shine wore of and all the warts came out the rest of the season.