Name: Anthony Richardson

School: Florida

Year: Redshirt Sophomore

Position: Quarterback

Measurables: 6’4”, 232 lbs.

Stats: 

Courtesy of Sports-Reference.com

General Info:

Richardson is a Florida native and attended Eastside High School in Gainesville, just a short drive away from the Gators’ home stadium. He was an excellent dual-threat quarterback, with 37 passing touchdowns and 41 rushing touchdowns during his high school career. He was a rated as a four-star prospect in the 2020 class, committing to Florida over 16 other schools that included Georgia and Penn State.

Richardson redshirted his freshman season after appearing sparingly in four games. He made his first career start the following season, before being handed the full-time starting role by new head coach Billy Napier in 2022. Richardson finished the season with 2,549 passing yards and 26 total touchdowns.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

The first thing that you’ll notice with Richardson is his outstanding arm talent. This ranks amongst the best we’ve seen in recent years, and he will make defenses defend every blade of grass. He generates plenty of velocity with seemingly little effort and is able to comfortably push the ball 60+ yards. What makes this even more impressive is that his arm strength shows no signs of diminishing when he is on the move.

Richardson pairs this arm talent with some electric rushing ability. At 232 lbs it should come as no surprise that he is a tough runner who can pick up the hard yards between the tackles. What sets him apart from most other quarterbacks is that he possesses legitimate long speed to rip off huge gains, as evidenced by his six carries of 40+ yards throughout his college career. Richardson also shows some nice elusiveness to make defenders miss in the open field.

Whilst his tools are outstanding, Richardson is far more than a project quarterback. Despite his lack of starting experience he already shows some impressive traits that translate well to the pro game. He is outstanding at navigating congested pockets to keep plays alive. He is also a competent processor who is able to quickly diagnose coverage and react to post-snap rotations in order to find weak spots.

Weaknesses

The biggest weakness to Richardson’s game is his accuracy. Whilst he will often make the right read, his ability to consistently hit his receiver in stride left plenty of big plays on the table. Richardson completed just 53% of his passes in 2022. For context, this ranked 121st of 128 quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks.

These accuracy issues stem almost entirely from Richardson’s poor lower body mechanics. His footwork in particular is poor and will need plenty of work in order for him to reach his potential at the NFL. Richardson does not throw from a consistent base and will needlessly bounce on his toes whilst in the pocket. He is also prone to making throws without even attempting to set his feet.

Fit with the Packers:

Whilst Richardson’s accuracy issues are a concern, he possesses the unteachable quarterback traits that success in the NFL relies upon. When you pair that with some impressive processing skill in his first year as a starter there is a lot to like about his game.

The Aaron Rodgers situation is set to dominate the Packers’ offseason once again and if he leaves for pastures new, Green Bay would be wise to consider another quarterback. Jordan Love has shown promise but remains something of an unknown quantity. He is also heading into the last year of his rookie deal.

Adding some competition in the form of Richardson would not be a bad idea at all. He certainly comes with his risks, but he also offers the highest upside of any quarterback in this year’s draft. That’s the kind of thing that is worth gambling on.