There is a chance Florida’s Anthony Richardson is the fifth quarterback taken in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft.
Not everybody is sold on former Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson in the 2023 NFL Draft.
In Peter King’s latest Football Morning in America column, the NFL insider has the former Gators star going to the Minnesota Vikings at No. 23 in his mock draft. Richardson may have the highest upside of any quarterback slated to go in the first round, but he also has the lowest floor. Not to say he is going to be the next JaMarcus Russell, but I am getting massive Vince Young vibes here.
To see Richardson being the fifth quarterback taken after Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, Will Levis and Hendon Hooker is, in actuality, pretty shocking. Is King right in his assessment of this situation?
NFL insider has Anthony Richardson going No. 23 overall to Minnesota Vikings
While I would agree that the Vikings are a great fit for Richardson, they still have Kirk Cousins, albeit on a contract they can get out from sooner rather than later. For upside reasons, I would have had Richardson as QB3 on my big board, ahead of Levis and way ahead of Hooker. King did mention that Richardson could go as high as No. 4 to the Indianapolis Colts, who remain clueless.
Although the Colts have done everything in their power to destroy any goodwill they had from the brief, but exciting Andrew Luck era over the last five years, I get why they might go with Levis over Richardson. They did draft Jeff George out of nearby Purdue over 30 years ago. Levis may be more self-aware than George, but he can really sling it, just like another native Hooiser did … Jay Cutler.
I may be a bigger believer in Levis than just about anyone, but like me, I think he is misunderstood. It is not easy to win games at Kentucky. As a surprise to absolutely no one, his game regressed last season in part because Liam Coen abandoned him in Lexington for another stab at the Los Angeles Rams. Fate would have it as Levis departed for the NFL, Coen came back to the Wildcats.
So again, I understand what the Colts could see in Levis, and I’m okay with them taking him over Richardson. However, what are you f*****g doing, Houston Texans?! I mean, that is a rhetorical question more often than not, but Hooker ain’t it, dude! While I like the idea of going pass-rusher at No. 2 and then going quarterback at No. 12 with the Deshaun Watson pick, it cannot be Hooker!
He is old, hurt and played in a gimmicky offense that is not going to translate to the NFL. You know who kicked an absurd amount of tail running Josh Heupel’s offense in college previously? Drew Lock, and he is going to hold a clipboard for the rest of time while he puts on for his city. Hooker might be the guy the Vikings should take at No. 23, but Houston is going to be so horrific with him.
Frankly, this is just a mock draft. People are allowed to be ridiculously wrong in these. That’s like the whole point of them, right? However, I have watched enough SEC football over the last 15-plus years to have a pretty good feeling that something will work out coming out of that league or not at the professional level. Drafting Hooker at No. 12 is a colossal waste with Richardson still available.
Ultimately, Richardson could bust harder than Sam Darnold or Josh Rosen for all we know, but he could be the next version of Cam Newton or Josh Allen. If you are the Texans and you do not go quarterback at No. 2, then Richardson has to be your guy at No. 12, if you still choose to go in that direction. King may not follow the college game closely, but that pick would be utterly atrocious.
Then again, Richardson may dodge a bullet here by avoiding the Texans’ festering dumpster fire.
