The Indianapolis Colts have a new face of the franchise in first-round pick Anthony Richardson, and it appears they have selected a classy young man to lead the team forward.
Years of poor quarterback play have marred the Colts since Andrew Luck's shock retirement in 2019, but there is a fresh start at Lucas Oil Stadium with new head coach-QB duo Shane Steichen and fourth-overall pick Richardson arriving this off-season.
The Colts were enamoured by the former Florida Gator's freakish physical traits during the draft process and the 6ft 4in, 234lb phenom is projected to have the highest ceiling of all the prospects that entered the league in this year's class.
But it seems the Colts have also got their hands on a man who ticks the boxes off the field, as well. Speaking to the Indianapolis-based sports radio show Kevin & Query, Colts GM Chris Ballard shared an anecdote as a guest speaker at the Indiana Sports Corp luncheon last week which speaks volumes about the 20-year-old's character.
"He (Ballard) told a story about Anthony Richardson in the NFL's rookie orientation programme," host Jake Query said. "Troy Vincent of the NFL called Ballard after the draft to tell him what an impact Richardson had left on him at the orientation programme, specifically after the dinner attended by all potential draftees.
"The room was left a mess. Everyone was leaving and Troy Vincent saw one person who stayed behind and was bussing tables before the staff came back into the room. Vincent walked up and approached him and said 'You don't need to do this', to which Anthony Richardson responded 'We left this room in an unacceptable condition and it's not right for us to expect the staff to clean it all up'.
"Vincent said he told Richardson he was free to go, to which Richardson basically said 'No, it's alright, I'd like to stay and help' and he did until the room was cleaned up entirely and he was the last person working along with the workers of the shift."
Richardson was the third quarterback off the board in Kansas City after Bryce Young and CJ Stroud went first and second overall to the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans respectively.
By far, he was the most inexperienced of the QBs taken in the first round and he enters the league as a raw prospect, but his athletic gifts are immense and there is a confidence within the Colts that Steichen – the offensive coordinator at the Philadelphia Eagles last season – can replicate his work with Jalen Hurts, who made a huge leap in his third year to become a dual-threat with his arms and legs as he led the team to the Super Bowl.
If the Colts' hopes are realised, Richardson has the potential to be a transcendent player in the league with his huge arm and athleticism as a runner, but he has also made a strong first impression with his superiors as a leader off the field.
