Anthony Richardson, Florida Gators. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Anthony Richardson will be rising up draft boards based on his incredible NFL potential.
There will be four quarterbacks going in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and Florida’s Anthony Richardson will certainly be one of them.
Richardson showed a ton of promise and flashed signs of brilliance during his time in Gainesville, but he is every bit a project quarterback as he is a prospect. The physical specimen is everything an NFL team would want out of a dual-threat quarterback. The issue with Richardson is both consistency and development. Should he go to the right place, he is the next Josh Allen of sorts.
Here are three franchises who could end up selection Richardson in the top half of the first round.
Table of Contents
NFL mock draft: 3 teams who should bank on Anthony Richardson’s potential
7
Las Vegas Raiders
AFC West
Josh McDaniels loved Tim Tebow, so Anthony Richardson must be his dream QB
For better or worse, the Las Vegas Raiders are moving off Derek Carr this offseason. He is being courted by teams at the scouting combine. While he will find a new place to play, Richardson is going to be turning heads with his measurables and overall athletic prowess. Al Davis loved physical freaks and Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels did draft another famous Florida star…
I don’t know if we are getting JaMarcus Russell vibes here, but the Raiders have to do something. They are in Las Vegas, which means they’ve got to roll the dice. Should Richardson be the next Josh Allen, then the Silver and Black have a franchise quarterback who can hold his own in-division with the likes of Justin Herbert, Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson. This risk could be worth it.
See, McDaniels is an offensive guru at head coach. He may have bombed in Denver previously, but his two runs in New England with Tom Brady were the stuff of legend. Richardson is still a very raw prospect, but if McDaniels thinks he can develop him into a bona-fide superstar, this could be career-changing for the both of them. At this point, the Raiders do not really have much to lose.
The Raiders are in the market for a quarterback picking at No. 7 and may not need to trade up.
