The Indianapolis Colts selected former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, and they are excited about the kind of potential this young athlete has. Richardson has already been named the starter for the 2023 regular season after just one preseason contest, as new head coach Shane Steichen believes they have a franchise signal-caller.
Richardson has been making waves in training camp, and it has Colts fans and teammates excited. On Thursday, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones asked Colts wideout Michael Pittman if Richardson is going to be a Hall of Famer. Pittman believes the rookie will indeed reside in Canton one day.
Is Anthony Richardson going to be a Hall of Famer?
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) August 17, 2023
Michael Pittman told @jjones9 he will be 👀 pic.twitter.com/6VfXkAQAk2
"Yes. Yes he is," said Pittman. "So he still has probably like 15 years to go, but I mean, dude's a freak out here. He's, what, like 240 [pounds], can probably bench press a house. He's faster than me probably, but I would never tell him that."
Richardson is known for his athletic ability, as he became the most athletic quarterback to ever go through the NFL Combine earlier this year. He didn't only check in with impressive measurements (6-foot-4, 244 pounds), but also ran an official 4.43 40-yard dash, which is the second-fastest 40 time recorded by a first-round quarterback at the combine since 2006, per ESPN. He recorded a 40.5-inch vertical leap, which the NFL's research department said was the highest for a quarterback since at least 2003, and his 10-foot-9 broad jump was also an NFL Combine record for a quarterback.
While Richardson's athleticism could immediately translate to the next level, he has some work to do as an NFL-level passer. Richardson tied Mitch Trubisky in having the fewest career college starts by a first-round pick since 2000 with 13. He also had the worst career completion percentage (55%) for a first-round pick since Jake Locker from the 2011 class. Additionally, no first-round quarterback recorded fewer passing touchdowns in college since Michael Vick from the 2001 class, who he tied with 24.
Regardless, many believe Richardson has the highest ceiling of any quarterback from this class. Pittman believes that ceiling includes a gold jacket.
