Pro Football Focus recently listed one reason that each NFL team won’t make the playoffs in 2024. For the Indianapolis Colts, it was Anthony Richardson’s inexperience.
Here is what PFF had to say:
“The flashes were very clearly there for Anthony Richardson in his rookie season, scoring four rushing touchdowns in four games. However, injuries limited him to just 98 dropbacks in his debut season, and in that small sample size his pressure-to-sack rate of 22.6% was tied for 10th worst in the league. There will likely still be some teething problems as Richardson develops, and that will make things difficult in a challenging AFC.”
What we saw from Richardson last season certainly was a small sample size, and like any quarterback, there were ups and downs. However, in that four game stint, we also saw growth from Richardson as well, which provides optimism for the upcoming season.
With that said, as PFF noted, 98 career dropbacks is not many, and in the grand scheme of the NFL, Richardson is still an inexperienced player at the most difficult position to transition to from college to the NFL. Odds are, to some degree, there will still be growing pains this season.
Although how well the quarterback performs often dictates a team’s overall success, it’s not as if Richardson has to do this on his own either.
The Colts defensive front should be one of the more disruptive units in football this season. On offense, the Colts return all five starters from an offensive line unit that ranked top-10 in both yards per rush and pressure rate last season.
GM Chris Ballard also added a playmaking presence at receiver in Adonai Mitchell to join Michael Pittman and Josh Downs, while Jonathan Taylor is fully healthy.
Beyond that, what we saw from Shane Steichen as a play-caller in Philadelphia has carried over to Indianapolis, creating a quarterback-friendly offense. It is oftentimes in a coach’s second season that we see a big jump as well, with continuity and familiarity with the system being the catalysts behind that.
Although Richardson didn’t get his experience through on-field reps last season, he’s had a full year in the offense and within the first few OTA practices, Steichen can already notice that difference:
“Just accelerated vision stuff,” said Steichen after Wednesday’s practice. “Mechanics are obviously part of it, but I think just accelerated vision, knowing where to go with the football and when to go with the football.
“Going through your reads, different coverages can dictate where that ball gets thrown. He does a good job with that, knowing where to go with the ball. So keep doing that, and at a high level.”
At the end of the day, development is never guaranteed and Richardson needs to showcase over a larger sample size that he can continue to progress and that steady presence at the position.
So, yes, PFF is probably right in saying that if Richardson doesn’t play well, the Colts likely aren’t making the playoffs—that’s just the power of the quarterback position in the NFL. However, the recipe for Richardson to be successful is certainly there as well.
