He sits in the top-five quarterback conversation for fantasy football drafts in 2024. Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson is getting a lot of love for a guy who has played four NFL games. Yes, four. However, before spending a high draft pick on the second-year player, slow your roll. Pump the brakes and consider all factors.
So how good can Anthony Richardson be? Is he a potential league winner? Is he a fantasy football game-changer?
Colts QB Anthony Richardson is a genuine talent
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If you listen to Yahoo! analyst Dalton Del Don, you will be drafting Anthony Richardson over every other quarterback. But before going that hog wild, there are many things to consider. First, Richardson already has one major injury strike against him — despite his 6-foot-4, 255-pound frame. Being big and fast in the NFL matters, but even the large men get hurt and miss games. Second, accuracy matters in the NFL. And while some people seemed to think Anthony Richardson suddenly conquered accuracy issues before the 2023 season, he completed only 59.5% of his passes. So there’s no statistical data to suggest he’s overcome the problem.
But what does passing accuracy matter in fantasy football? Just give me two long passing touchdowns and two rushing scores. I’ll take all those quarterback points to the bank. Right?
Remember that fantasy football points only come if Anthony Richardson has the ball in his hands. If he can’t thread the needle against a tough zone defense on third and 10, the drive is over and he’s going to the bench. And even if he’s scored 20 fantasy points already, maybe you need 30.
How does it feel to watch the clock tick away and Richardson can’t get back on the field? So yes, to be a successful fantasy quarterback, accuracy matters because it keeps drives alive.
NFL defensive coordinators are smart cookies
An NFL quarterback better bring more than one weapon to the field. Anthony Richardson isn’t going to consistently run the football down the field. If he doesn’t scare defensive coordinators with his throwing ability, they’ll keep a spy on him. They will do everything in their power to make him be one-dimensional and force him into throwing situations.
And if he insists on running the ball, defensive coordinators are going to hit him hard. Over and over. He may get rushing touchdowns, but there will be hard hits. And every hard hit means another opportunity for concussions or other injuries. Anthony Richardson told nytimes.com he doesn’t plan to change his style of play despite last year’s injury. He said last year’s injury can be tossed into the unfortunate bin. Just one of those things.
“I don’t think there’s any way I could’ve avoided what happened to me,” Richardson said. “People see me, I’m a big quarterback, so they always think, ‘He wants to run the ball. He wants to be physical, and that is what’s going to get him hurt.’ That’s not the case.”
The bottom line is simple
You will have to spend a high draft pick to get Anthony Richardson. Plain truth. Somebody in your league will pull the trigger sooner rather than later. But if you listen to Del Don, you’re taking Richardson over Josh Allen, Jalen Hurts, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson. Go ahead. But not me. I admit Richardson could have everything fall into place and exceed one or two of those guys. He could also play four games like last year. Or his passing could ruin his season and he might finish as QB15 — or worse. That’s too big of a gamble.
Plus, if I miss out on Richardson and wind up with C.J. Stroud, Joe Burrow, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, or Tua Tagovailoa, I think I be super fine. One last word. If you draft Richardson at QB1, you have to come back and get a quality backup to hedge that gamble. Options are Brock Purdy, Jayden Daniels, Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams.
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