Titans First Round Options: Anthony Richardson

Stoney Keeley dives into the game of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson on the latest edition of Titans First Round Options.

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The 2023 NFL Draft takes place April 27-29 this year, emanating LIVE from Kansas City, Missouri. As it stands, the Tennessee Titans have one first round draft pick. New general manager Ran Carthon and head coach Mike Vrabel currently hold the 11th overall selection. Over the next couple of months, I’ll be taking a look at some of the prospects who are either rumored to be tied to, have met with, who make sense for the Titans, or who are for some reason being mocked to the Titans even though they don’t really have a need at the position. Whatever – there are no rules here. Today, we’re lookin’ at Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson.

I need to get my ass into gear and watch more CJ Stroud tape. It sounds like if the Titans are to move up in the draft, that’s the guy they could potentially be targeting. But, I’ll say it right now – Richardson has quickly become one of my favorite overall prospects in this year’s entire draft class. His tape is indeed his tape – it’s been out there for months now, but I guess some analysts are just now getting around to watching it because of the Scouting Combine. But, those of us who have picked up his scent earlier were not surprised to see him test like the absolute freak of nature that he is. His ceiling is ridiculous, but I think his floor is higher than people are giving him credit for.

There’s a reason that Richardson is starting to soar up draft boards as more people really dive into his tape. He has a mesmerizing type of game – I still can’t really make sense of that Florida offense from 2022, but Richardson flashes some breathtaking arm talent and his physical traits are the best of this year’s quarterback class. He is closer to Josh Allen than the guy who is being compared to Josh Allen this draft cycle. I get the concern with Richardson, but the more I watch, the more I think his issues can be boiled down to his footwork. He gets happy feet sometimes, and that seems to cause him to bounce around taking unnecessary steps and making it harder on himself to reset his feet and throw from a firm, mechanically sound base. If you can iron that out, you’ve got a franchise guy under center.

I’m not entirely sure his decision-making is as bad as the groupthink would dictate because that Florida offense just ran some confusing route concepts sending receivers to the same spot on several occasions that I watched. He has an uncanny ability to extend plays with his feet from within the pocket, and when he takes off to run, he is absolutely electric. He can make throws with altered arm angles – all the rage right now – and he has plenty of dimes scattered throughout his tape. Watch the Utah tape and tell me there’s another quarterback in this class that can do some of the things he did. You’re rolling the dice on whether or not you can iron out the mechanics, and it may not happen in Year 1, but if you have a good staff that can coach up quarterback footwork, and an offense that really suits his skill set, you’ve got a stud in the making.

I don’t think there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that Richardson is there for the Titans at #11. We’ve heard Carthon talk about how he covets accuracy and anticipation in a quarterback, and I don’t know that that’s necessarily there right away for Richardson. We’ve also heard Vrabel rave about Ryan Tannehill‘s decisiveness, and I don’t think that’s there right away for Richardson either. This staff has done a great job with Tannehill after it looked like his career as a starter was dead and buried. While we definitely make our jokes about the guy, they did a commendable job of coaching around the deficiencies of Malik Willis. I’m not in the camp that thinks the Titans coaching staff just pisses down its leg and CAN’T develop a quarterback like Richardson. I just don’t think they’ll want to. Based on the strengths of Stroud’s game, he very much seems like he’d be their guy. Still…as a fan…I’d love to see the fireworks of drafting a prospect like Richardson.

Further Reading: Inside Anthony Richardson’s week at the NFL combine

2023 TITANS FIRST ROUND OPTIONS

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Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley.

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