The Indianapolis Colts could be starting rookie QB Anthony Richardson week 1 vs Jacksonville Jaguars. Colts took Anthony Richardson with the 4th overall pick in the NFL Draft back in April. He has been taking a lot of first team reps throughout training camp and been making an huge impression with the coaching staff and his teammates. Wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr and Quenton Nelson had this to say about him:
“He’s always watching film, studying, and learning from our last day,” Pittman said on Anthony Richardson. “I feel like he’s picking everything up really fast. He’s just getting that accelerated vision that he didn’t have when he first came in because no rookie really knows the speed of NFL ball whether you’re a receiver, quarterback, lineman, cornerback. It’s just different. I think he’s doing well.”
“His work ethic and his poise in the huddle, for a rookie, has impressed me a lot,” Nelson said, via ESPN Stephen Holder. “The growth I’ve seen from OTAs til now, you could tell that in the offseason he was at home studying, he was working on calling the plays and the huddle.
At the beginning of August, Richardson announced to the media he had increased his weight from 240 to 252 pounds, as a result of his muscle mass growing. The extra muscle mass will certainly help, especially taking those big hits in the NFL. After signing new head coach Shane Steichen, the Colts are expected to utilize Richardson’s legs, especially for RPO’s and play action. There’s only been a hand full of training camp practices for Richardson but he has been stacking up those practices with plays like a 60-yard touchdown bomb to second-year wide receiver Alec Pierce. See the YouTube short clip below:
That play sent waves across the NFL and Brandon Deacon of NFL Rookie Watch deemed the play as the “best play of camp” so far. Here’s Deacon’s tweet on X, formerly known as Twitter:
On Saturday, August 05, 2023, Richardson switched to second team and had several impressive throws, which includes a touchdown to rookie tight end Andrew Ogletree (missed rookie year – ACL) in the red zone. Today, Richardson took first team reps and continues to make plays, showing off a deep pass to wide receiver Alec Pierce (AGAIN!!!) and a touchdown pass to tight end Kylen Granson in the red zone. The touchdown pass to Granson came on a situational drill. It was noted, the offense was down 8 points with no timeouts left, they needed to quickly get into the end zone and then go for two-point conversion. After the touchdown, Richardson ran it in for a successful two-points. It was a promising sequence. It has Colt fans super excited for the 2023 season, rather he starts week 1 or plays at some point during the season. Far as the preseason game vs Bills, Colt fans could see a glimpse of what to expect from Richardson during his rookie campaign.
