Anthony Richardson Earns Undraftable Free Agent NFL Grade?

It’s getting worse and worse each year with wanna be quarterbacks, and such is the case for Florida signal caller Anthony Richardson.

Mechanics have gone right out the window when it comes to evaluating them.

Many of these quarterbacks are just athletes trying for the spotlight.

Let’s cut to the chase on Richardson

I’m not even going to mess around on this evaluation.

Let’s get right to it on Richardson, who recently declared for the 2023 NFL Draft.

The 6’4” 238-pound redshirt sophomore was in his first year as the full-time quarterback on this team.

To begin, Gators’ wide receiver Ricky Pearsall and tight end Jonathan Odom deserve more.

NFL Mock Draft Database has Richardson the consensus No. 9 overall pick going to the Indianapolis Colts, with a 48.9% chance to go in the first round.

CBS has him rated as the fourth quarterback in the top-10 in their most recent mock.

This is wild what CBS writes. It is so wild, I must let it be in their words:

Come again?

CBS states even though his game film has Richardson looking like a “Day 2 or later,” pick – – no other quarterback has the physical and athletic profile that he has?

Allow me to put my neck on the line

In my opinion, Richardson is not even a day-two pick.

Richardson shouldn’t even drafted unless they convert him to being a tight-end or wide receiver when they announce his name on a draft card.

Looking at the big picture when it comes to Richardson

How the mighty have fallen.

There was a time not too long ago the University of Florida fielded some of the best teams, ever. They also produced some of the best college players.

I said college, not the NFL.

Former Gators’ quarterback Tim Tebow is considered one of the best college quarterbacks ever. He was known for his heart, character and charisma as a leader.

However, when it came to the NFL, the things that stood out were his flawed mechanics and his Christian faith, which is what made him such a polarizing prospect.

The next quarterback chosen in that 2010 draft after Tebow was Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen, who did not possess the leadership (like Tebow). Clausen did have the pedigree and the golden arm, but his NFL career ended up lasting just as long as Tebow’s.

My point – – if you could combine these two quarterbacks best attributes, you would pretty much have the perfect prospect. You would have a player who would set the standard. However, when looking at them separately, they are two of the biggest busts the NFL has ever seen.

Anthony Richardson has none of the attributes that these players possessed. He is a one dimensional athlete that shouldn’t even be under center as a quarterback.

Richardson on game film

I’m guessing this must be what CBS was eluding to, that I saw on his game film…

Richardson rarely goes through his progressions, and he stares down receivers, which leads to regular interceptions even at the college level.

Every interception he threw that I witnessed was because of him doing this. There were additionally some passes that were dropped that could’ve been interceptions.

If Richardson didn’t have the superbly talented running back Trevor Etienne to do check-downs, his stats would be a lot more embarrassing.

Against Georgia, his only score was a 78-yard garbage time touchdown to Florida wide receiver Xzavier Henderson. This was a touchdown that resulted from an over-the-top safety breaking on the pass and unsuccessfully trying to pick it off.

It is a good thing for the University of Florida to have Richardson declare for the draft. Maybe now they can find a decent replacement for him and get back to relevancy.

My BIG three questions…

1. Will an NFL offensive coordinator build a system around him that will maximize his strengths, or will he be stuffed into a system that doesn’t suit him?
2. Will he be able to or want to change positions in the NFL?
3. Is he capable of developing into a winning starting quarterback at the next level?

How Richardson stacks up and game film reviewed

Draft projection: Undraftable Free Agent

Pro comparison: Terrelle Pryor

Game Film Evaluated:

Utah ’22

Florida State ’22

Georgia ’22

The author, William Yanish, has been a football fan since he was knee high to a grasshopper. He played football until his body wouldn’t let him any longer at the tender young age of 17. He is an aspiring sports writer and author, who covers the NFL Draft for firstroundmock.com. Yanish attended Colorado Mesa University on the western slope of Colorado.