Anthony Richardson is the most significant boom-or-bust prospect in the 2023 NFL Draft class. He possesses ungodly arm talent, is an electric athlete, and can make any throw on the field. BUT – with that comes the lack of polish to his game. His mechanics are raw, and his tools are wildly untamed. If a coach can find a way to create a system for him to settle into next year, Richardson could be a huge player in the NFL, but won’t be able to sustain success until he develops his mechanics. 

There’s no doubt that Anthony Richardson has some crazy upside – anyone who says otherwise is… I don’t even know. Richardson has some very raw mechanics to clean up, especially in his feet, his base, his platform, and all of that will help lead him forward. He struggled at times with the speed of the SEC game, which leads you to believe there will be problems with transitioning to the NFL level. 

As a Gators fan, I've seen a lot of Anthony Richardson.

The more I go back and watch him, he's without question the biggest risk vs. reward quarterback in this draft and it's not even close. pic.twitter.com/zGTllaqoGK

— LaDarius Brown (@ladarius_brown) February 24, 2023

Suffered a knee injury in 2021 that led him to sit the Bowl Game. Played through injury most of the 2022 season – seemed to take a hit early against Tennessee and then struggled with his ankle the rest of the season. 

Anthony Richardson’s scouting report

Quarterback Ability (65)

Arm Talent: 20

• Arm Strength (10/10) – Has a cannon for an arm. Absolutely ungodly arm talent. Can push the ball to any point of the field with effortless ease. Pushes the ball around 70 yards at max. Velocity looks great. 
• Touch Ability (4.5/5) – Beautiful touch ball. Throws it very naturally and has solid feel. 
• Release (3/5) – Release is so inconsistent, sometimes looking quick and other times extended. Can throw from several arm slots and angles. 

Accuracy/Placement: 25

• Accuracy (7/15) – Accuracy is still very inconsistent. Struggles to throw with accuracy when under duress. Consistently overthrows receivers on the intermediate to deep ball. Completed just 53% of his passes last year with a 5.5% throwaway rate. 
• Placement/Vision (6.5/10) – Ball tends to sail on him, especially when under duress. Flashes extraordinary placement – but only flashes. Not nearly consistent enough. Struggles to hit receivers in stride consistently, but flashes the ability to very well. 

Pocket Presence: 10

• Pocket Positioning (2.5/5) – Has to work on his drop and how he works the pocket. So inconsistent with it. 
• Pocket Maneuverability (4/5) – Richardson maneuvers the pocket decently well. Can move to space and get throws off in limited space. Really flashes special pocket movement from time to time. 

Footwork: 10

• Consistency (2.5/5) – Does not have consistent feet. Struggles to work at stepping into his throws, especially when throwing underneath. 
• Quickness (4.5/5) – Very quick feet. There won’t be any issue with quickness or speed with Richardson. 

Athleticism (20)

Mobility: 12

• Outside of the pocket (5/7) – He can move very well outside of the pocket. Typically gets outside of the pocket to run. Doesn’t do it often to throw. Seems to throw decently well on the move. 
• Downfield Ability (5/5) – Very solid athlete. Has the big body but struggles in power situations. Has so many moves and is difficult to bring down. 

Improvability: 8

• Natural Improvability (3/4) – Solid improv ability. Mostly as a runner, but flashes some solid improvability. 
• Play Extension (3/4) – Seems to extend plays relatively well. Can keep the play alive with his movement and retain the structure of the play without going into the scramble drill. 

Intelligence (15)

Football IQ/Field Vision: 10

• Football Intelligence (3.5/5) – Seems to have a very decent handle on the field, can keep plays alive with his understanding of where players will be and manipulate defenders with his movement. Still makes bad decisions from time to time and tries to force the ball into places he doesn’t need to be trying to force it. 
• Ability to read pre-snap (3/5) – Has the ability to pick up on some pre-snap looks, but will make bone-headed decisions from time to time. 

Overall: (76.5) – 2nd/3rd Round