Welcome to the sixth daily installment of the NFL Draft 1-through-32 series on DK Pittsburgh Sports, intended to introduce you, a prospect at a time, to the top 32 players in the class on a consensus basis, leading right up to the main event.
That, of course, will be April 27-29, in Kansas City, Mo., though all 32 teams, including the Steelers on the South Side, will operate from their local headquarters.
NO. 6: ANTHONY RICHARDSON
Florida quarterback
Richardson is the No. 6-rated player on Pro Football Focus' Big Board. While he is most definitely not the most polished passer in this draft class, his athleticism is undeniable and makes him for a potential long-term reward for the team which drafts him.
COLLEGE BACKGROUND
This is going to be one of a likely few cases where college performance awards and accolades do not run rampant within a first-round prospect, and yet, NFL executives, coaches, and scouts become absolutely enamored with the player.
Richardson does not have the same pedigree as Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud, or even compared to Will Levis, among top-end quarterbacks in this draft.
Over his 22 career games at Florida, Richardson completed just 54.7% of his passes for 3,105 yards, 24 touchdowns, and 15 interceptions for a 133.6 rating. His ability as a runner shows through, as he rushed for 6.9 yards per carry and 12 touchdowns on 161 attempts over his three seasons.
But, what Richardson makes up for on the stat sheet and within the box score, he more than makes up for in the film room. That is where the massive amount of hype and intrigue comes into play.
Richardson is a hometown kid, from Gainesville, Fla., who chose to stay home as a four-star recruit out of high school. He had 19 offers, including from Penn State. He measured at 6-foot-4, 224 pounds and was the No. 9-rated dual-threat quarterback in the high school recruiting class of 2020, despite sustaining a season-ending injury to his throwing arm.
NFL COMBINE, PRO DAY
Just look at these measurables from the NFL Combine:
• 6-foot-4
• 244 pounds
• 32 3/4-inch arm length
• 10 1/2-inch hand width
• 4.43-second official 40-yard dash
• 40.5-inch vertical jump
• 10-foot-9 broad jump
• 99 athleticism score (first among NFL Combine QBs)
Athlete.
His vertical and broad jumps were Combine records for quarterbacks, and his 40-yard dash was the fastest among Combine quarterbacks.
His vertical jump beat all Combine QBs by three inches, his broad jump led Combine QBs by five inches, and had he run he three-cone and short shuttle drills, he probably would have wiped the floor with the competition, as well.
This man did a round off and a backflip upon completing his pro day workout.
Seriously:
And this is how Anthony Richardson closed his pro day throwing session. He’ll join us shortly on NFL+ pic.twitter.com/DVQVFzYQkg
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 30, 2023
He completed a throwing workout of 45 passes which included overthrows on receivers 70 yards downfield, per reports, and sent a throw so high that it hit the ceiling of the Gators' indoor workout facility. Among teams on-hand to see his pro day were Carolina (pick No. 1), Seattle (pick No. 5), and Las Vegas (pick No. 7).
While his athleticism is undeniable, his accuracy and consistency are still the largest question marks within his game. After the pro day, Richardson told reporters that "I feel like I delivered the ball pretty well today. Some of them weren't as great as I wanted to be, but I feel like I threw the ball pretty well today."
MOCK DRAFT
The USA Today mock draft consensus tracker has Richardson going at No. 4 overall to Indianapolis, with an average draft slotting at 4.167. Our latest mock draft also has Richardson going to Indianapolis at No. 4 overall.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE STEELERS' STANDPOINT
Another first-round quarterback? Nope.
COREY'S TAKE
I like Indianapolis as the fit here, and not just because I think Carolina and Houston are going to pick Stroud and Young in which ever order it presents itself; I think it's because of how new head coach Shane Steichen just turned Jalen Hurts from second-round pick into bona fide star in this league. The Colts' current quarterbacks on roster are Gardner Minshew, Nick Foles, and Sam Ehlinger. Minshew and Foles have obvious history with Steichen, and if the coach is comfortable enough with either as a stopgap starter while Richardson takes time to develop, then that could work, if he so chooses.
That is not ideal for pick No. 4, which is a slot a team should draft a starter in. That's obvious. But, Richardson's best situation to develop as a passer, among these top teams picking in the draft, should be in Indianapolis.
