QB Anthony Richardson envisions playing a Jalen Hurts role for the Indianapolis Colts

The mystery of who the Indianapolis Colts would select with their first-round NFL Draft pick is over. They drafted quarterback Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick on Thursday.  

Before we turn our focus to what the Colts can expect from their new franchise quarterback. The team still needs to complete the 2023 NFL Draft. Rounds 2 and 3 will start tonight and the Colts currently have only two picks.

What can the Indianapolis Colts expect from Richardson both this upcoming season and in the future? There is no question that he needs some more development, refinement, and game experience in order for him to reach his full potential.

Anthony Richardson, asked if he expects some Jalen Hurts elements in the Colts offense:

"Definitely. I was watching all last year. I love Jalen Hurts, so I was watching mainly bc of him. I’m pretty much familiar with what they’re going to run and I’m excited to get into it."

— Stephen Holder (@HolderStephen) April 28, 2023

It goes without saying that this was the easiest expectation for everyone once the Indianapolis Colts chose Richardson. Colts first-year head coach Shane Steichen, the former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator, is coming fresh off a Super Bowl appearance with the Eagles. It’s also a season that saw their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, have the best season of his career. A lot of the credit for Hurts’ success can be attributed to the work that Steichen did.

This is not the first time that Steichen has been able to get the most out of a young quarterback in just a short period of time. When he was an offensive coordinator with the Los Angeles Chargers he worked with rookie quarterback Justin Herbert. Now, Steichen will be able to work with Richardson.

How will Indianapolis Colts use Anthony Richardson?

Richardson has already said that he wants to be coached hard and wants a coach to get the best out of him. It is easy to envision that this year’s Indianapolis Colts team will have a lot of RPOs, designed quarterback runs, and rollouts in the offense. All of this will help maximize Richardson’s athletic abilities. 

The Colts offense in the last two seasons was run-heavy. A lot of that was because of the very poor play from their quarterback. Another part of the reason was that Jonathan Taylor is one of the best running backs in the NFL. This season will probably see the Colts running the ball a lot again.

However, it will be because Taylor is the team’s best weapon but also because Anthony Richardson is a very good runner as well. Opposing defenses will have to respect his running ability. And when they over-commit to stopping the run that’s when you can expect the Colts to call a pass play that takes advantage of Richardson’s passing strength and an advantageous matchup in the secondary.

Another play you can expect to see the Colts utilize a lot this season is the play-action pass. After, enough game film teams will start game planning more to stop the run and will call their defensive plays accordingly. This will be the time when the Colts can give them the play action and take advantage of the defense being overaggressive. 

Steichen is widely considered a brilliant offensive mind and he will have more creative offensive game plans in store. One thing is for sure about this upcoming season is that the Indianapolis Colts are no longer expected to be boring and predictable on offense.