Anthony Richardson impressing Indianapolis Colts without using his athleticism

When evaluating the rookie quarterbacks of the 2023 NFL Draft class, there isn’t a prospect more exciting than Anthony Richardson from an athletic standpoint. Perhaps the biggest arm in the draft also possesses the most explosiveness when he takes off and runs. One could argue we’ve seen very few players like Richardson in the past. In fact, some measures suggest Richardson is in a league of his own when it comes to athleticism.

But as we’ve seen before, there are many more aspects to playing QB than just being athletic. While the possibilities of what Richardson can do is tantalizing, this isn’t a video game. He still needs to show what he can actually do at the NFL level.

Yet, one of the biggest areas young players, and especially quarterbacks, struggle with is getting up to speed, whether it’s the faster pace of play, understanding advanced concepts, or just adapting to an NFL defensive coordinator coming up with a new game plan against you each and every week.

But if there’s one aspect Richardson hasn’t had trouble with early on, it’s his understanding of Shane Steichen’s offense. According to Albert Breer, Colts coaches have been impressed with how quickly Richardson is picking things up, relaying play calls from his headset to teammates in the huddle.

It’s an important area to be thriving in, as it helps Richardson gain command of the huddle, not having to slow down to think when he needs to focus on other aspects of playing the position. As we often hear coaches and players say, it’s important to be able to play fast and not be held back by having second thoughts.

While Richardson doesn’t appear to be struggling with grasping offensive concepts so far, it’s still not quite the same as actually playing the position, making the reads, and connecting on his throws. Yet, he’s been doing those things his entire life. The Colts coaches have to like the progress they’ve seen so far, knowing Richardson can continue working on the finer aspects of being the team’s starting signal-caller. The sky is the limit for the 21-year-old QB.