When former Florida Gators QB Anthony Richardson declared for the NFL Draft rather than come up for one year in Gainesville, we understood the reasons why, given he was a projected first-round draft pick, even though we thought he could benefit from another year of development.
After being selected 4th overall by Indianapolis, Richardson has seen his ups and downs in two years with the Colts, including being benched last season for a few games after Richardson claimed he was "tired."
Entering year three of his NFL voyage, Richardson still has a ton to prove, and CBS Sports just declared that Richardson comprises one of the worst QB rooms in the NFL.
Former Gator Anthony Richardson gets no love from CBS
Garrett Podell compiled a list of the "10 worst QB rooms in NFL" and coming in as the 2nd worst QB room in the NFL are the Colts, headed up by Richardson.
The current room in Indianapolis includes Daniel Jones, Riley Leonard, Jason Bean, and Richardson. So some of the poor ranking is a reflection on Jones and Leonard being the backups, but it is also a reflection on Richardson himself.
Podell comments:
"Anthony Richardson, the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, became just the fourth quarterback since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger to lead the NFL in yards per completion (14.4) while ranking dead last in completion percentage (47.7%) in 2024. He's the ultimate boom or bust quarterback in the NFL in today: he has a cannon, but he desperately needs to become more accurate."
In many ways it tracks with what we had said when he declared for the NFL. Back in November of 2022 when it was obvious Richardson would declare for the NFL Draft we said:
"And while Gators fans were mostly happy with Richardson's performance this year, that doesn't mean there aren't some major red flags for the next level.
The biggest is that he simply isn't accurate enough on short to intermediate routes to sustain drives with enough consistency. How many times this year did we see Richardson sail a five yard-route or throw a screen pass into the dirt?
Richardson finished the year with a completion percentage of 53.8%, which doesn't even sniff the top 100 completion percentages in FBS this season. His nine interceptions however were the 28th most in the country and his interception rate of 2.8% (he threw an interception on 2.8% of his passes) is also towards the bottom of the country.
That simply won't get it done in the NFL, where the worst percentage in the league is Zach Wilson at 55.6%. Even the "running" QBs in the league like Lamar Jackson and Kyler Murray are still north of 60%."
The hope for Colts fans in 2025 is that Richardson can achieve his ceiling, which is still much higher than most in the NFL. But there is a reason the NFL sometimes stands for Not For Long, and being the 4th overall pick doesn't guarantee any kind of leash for Richardson if he continues to struggle in 2025.