Why Anthony Richardson is the best fit for the Indianapolis Colts

The 2023 NFL Draft is less than two weeks away and the Indianapolis Colts are diligently working on finalizing their draft board. It’s been highly suggested that it is down to two quarterbacks, Will Levis and Anthony Richardson. However, at this point, there has been no definitive answer as to who they are taking with their first pick.

It is becoming clear that whenever the Colts do something with Levis, that information makes its way to the media at least a day in advance. By comparison, any information pertaining to the Colts and Richardson is leaked after the fact. Derive whatever conclusion you want from this information.

Regardless of which quarterback the Indianapolis Colts select with the fourth overall pick, he’ll be entering a situation that will tailor the offense around his strengths.

So, while that is nice to know and should offer comfort to the fans, there is one quarterback who is the best fit for the horseshoe. Now, before we reveal who that quarterback is,it doesn’t mean that if another quarterback is chosen they’ll be a flop. This just means that this quarterback offers the highest ceiling for the Colts.

Examining Shane Steichen’s work with quarterbacks

anthony richardson, indianapolis colts, nfl draft

The quarterback who is the best fit and offers the highest ceiling, while arguably the lowest floor, is Florida’s Anthony Richardson. If C.J. Stroud or Bryce Young were to be available then it’s possible one of those guys would be the pick. They’re expected to get drafted earlier, so we’re not including them.

In evaluating the best quarterback fit for the Indianapolis Colts we have to review Shane Steichen’s past days as an offensive coordinator. Prior to becoming the Colts’ head coach, he was the OC for the Los Angeles Chargers and Philadelphia Eagles. While with the Chargers he built three different offenses, with one of those being done on the fly after Tyrod Taylor’s lung was punctured by the team doctor.

Not only that but each offense needed to be different in order to maximize the strengths of each quarterback. At the time Philip Rivers was 37 years old and essentially a statue in the pocket. Taylor and Justin Herbert both offered some mobility while Herbert offered the stronger arm. Here’s a look at each player’s stats in a Steichen offense and where they ranked in that players’ career season stats.

Player	Completion %	Yards	Yards/Game	Yards/Completion	Record
Philip Rivers	66% (6th best)	4,615 (4th best)	288.4 (4th best)	11.8 (8th best)	5-11 (11th best)
Justin Herbert*	66% (2nd best)	4,336 (worst)	289.1 (2nd best)	10.9 (2nd best)	6-9 (worst)

After spending two years in Los Angeles, Steichen joined Nick Sirianni’s staff in Philadelphia. Here, Steichen got work with another young quarterback in Jalen Hurts.

During the two years in Philly, there were questions about Hurts being the franchise quarterback and if he could succeed while playing more from the pocket. After this past season, it’s fair to say Hurts answered those questions.

Player	Completion %	Yards	Yards/Game	Yards/Completion	Record
Jalen Hurts (‘21)	61.3% (2nd best)	3,144 (2nd best)	209.6 (2nd best)	11.9 (worst)	8-7 (2nd best)
Jalen Hurts (‘22)	66.5% (best)	3,701 (best)	246.7 (best)	12.1 (2nd best)	14-1 (best)

The Indianapolis Colts and Shane Steichen’s offense

When looking at the player stats, we can see some similarities among them all. We can also see how the offenses were tailored to not just the quarterback but also the personnel, too. His first years tend to be more extreme to one side of the offense before it finds some balance:

Year	Points	Yards	1st Down	Passing Yards	Passing Attempts	Passing TDs	Rushing Attempts	Rushing Yards	Rushing TDs	Scoring %
2019	21st	10th	7th	6th	10th	17th	28th	28th	20th	9th
2020	18th	9th	6th	6th	5th	10th	9th	18th	27th	21st
2021	12th	14th	14th	25th	32nd	25th	2nd	1st	1st	10th
2022	3rd	3rd	3rd	9th	23rd	14th	3rd	5th	1st	4th

How Anthony Richardson fits the Indianapolis Colts

One of the things we can take away from this chart is that Steichen’s offense has been getting better each year. Another thing is that his offense doesn’t need a polished quarterback in order to be successful. For example, in 2021 they first tried to have Hurts throw the ball all over the field, which yielded little success. They then turned their offense into being run-heavy.

The following year saw Philadelphia blend Hurts’ mobility with an explosive passing game. This is something that can reasonably be expected with the Indianapolis Colts and in Anthony Richardson’s rookie year. It’s no secret that Richardson’s passing needs work, from his decision-making, footwork, and defensive recognition. All of these weaknesses are correctable with coaching.

The Indianapolis Colts employ one of the best running backs in the NFL, Jonathan Taylor. Having the home run threat of Taylor lined up in the backfield next to Richardson will initially force defenses to load the box and dare Richardson to beat them with his arm. This will play right into the hands of Steichen’s passing offense.

His offenses like to have a field-stretching receiver and then either some crossing routes underneath or something short for a high completion. The Colts’ offense doesn’t have the most explosive receivers. However, Michael Pittman Jr, Alec Pierce, and Isaiah McKenzie should be able to thrive. Richardson’s passing strength is in the medium and long passing areas. These let him take advantage of his strong arm.

Also Read:
2023 NFL Draft QB rankings: Bryce Young leads best quarterback prospects in NFL Draft

And when he gets out of the pocket, whether by design or because of the rush, it will put even more stress on the defense as they’ll need to respect his running ability. All of this will help lead to explosive plays for the Colts. As we all got to witness last season with Hurts, Steichen’s offenses are at their most dangerous and explosive with the threat of a mobile quarterback.

It’s true that Richardson needs work on his accuracy but a lot of his inaccuracies can be credited to his footwork. As previously stated, Steichen has experience working with and developing young quarterbacks. Also, he wants a quarterback that is hungry to get better at the game of football. From what Richardson has stated and by his own in-season progression and development, it’s clear that he has exactly what Steichen is looking for in a quarterback.

Then there is what Colts GM Chris Ballard looks for in players, the measurables. Richardson has all the measurables that Ballard could want. Richardson has the size, arm strength, and speed. However, the one area that Richardson is lacking in is accuracy and a question is whether will that be enough to go in a different direction with their first pick.

Or can Steichen convince Ballard that the lack of accuracy has more to do with the talent around Richardson at Florida and the poor footwork? There is enough evidence in Richardson’s tape that shows his completion percentage should be much higher if his receivers were better at catching.

It needs to be pointed out, possibly again, that Anthony Richardson is only 20 years old (three years younger than Levis) and will be turning 21 on May 22nd. So, while his game and abilities aren’t fully developed the progress he’s made in just one full season of starting should only be viewed positively.

Also, besides just the 12 games he played last season, he played 10 games combined in the prior two seasons. So, he has more collegiate experience than what is being stated.

Again, as previously stated, the Indianapolis Colts are most likely to select a quarterback in this year’s draft. And on top of that, they have the right structure in place to develop the player they select. Now, the biggest decision they have to make is which quarterback to take and that answer should be Anthony Richardson.