While ESPN NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay thinks Alabama quarterback Bryce Young is “a smaller version of Patrick Mahomes”, he has no idea what to think about another quarterback prospect that could land in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
During an appearance Wednesday night on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt, McShay explained how hard it is to evaluate Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson as an NFL prospect.
McShay told Van Pelt, “Scotty, 24 years I’ve been doing this… [Richardson] might be the hardest evaluation I’ve ever had.”
He added, “[Richardson] is going to be a first-round pick, but he really needs to land in the right spot.”
"24 years I've been doing this… he might be the hardest (#NFLDraft) evaluation I've ever had."
"He's going to be a first-round pick, but he really needs to land in the right spot."
– Todd McShay on Florida QB Anthony Richardson pic.twitter.com/uGfhXu6onP
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) February 16, 2023
“Scotty, 24 years I’ve been doing this… he might be the hardest evaluation I’ve ever had. He’s 6’4″, 232 pounds. He has a rifle for an arm. He’s as good as a lot of running backs in the NFL in terms of mobility. But he’s only started 13 games, and he’s not ready yet. I have him in Carolina (Panthers) going at No. 9. Wherever he goes, there better be a quarterback coach, an offensive coordinator, a head coach that have a plan and have patience. That’s going to be fascinating to see where he lands.”
“I’ll never forget talking to (Patrick) Mahomes in the preseason before his second year. He said, ‘Todd, I didn’t know how to identify the Mike,’ meaning the middle linebacker, coming out of Texas Tech. He said, ‘I didn’t have that one year with Alex, and with Andy Reid, I had no shot.’
“So, we talk about it over and over again, but it’s so critical to some of these quarterbacks’ developments. I thought Anthony Richardson was going to go back to school. I’m surprised he made this decision. He’s going to be a first-round pick, but he really needs to land in the right spot.”
Richardson, 21, threw for 17 touchdown passes and nine interceptions in 2022 as a redshirt sophomore at Florida. He also ran for 654 yards (6.3 AVG) and nine touchdowns.
Richardson’s dual-threat ability and physical tools are what front offices dream of in today’s NFL. However, he’s had issues with his passing accuracy (he had a 53.8 completion percentage in 2022) and is very raw as a passer. As McShay’s evaluation would suggest, the evaluations of Richardson will be all over the place. And as McShay said, the situation Richardson lands in will be crucial to his chances of success in the NFL.
It’s easy to see Richardson going anywhere from the top-five picks to the bottom of the first round of the upcoming draft. But there’s sure to be an NFL team or two that will fall in love with his tools and ceiling in a league that’s all about quarterback upside.