Anthony Richardson and the plight of the 2023 NFL Draft's developmental QBs

USA Today

a day ago

Bryce Young was the No. 1 overall pick, going from Alabama to the Carolina Panthers. Young wasn't a developmental type of quarterback, however; he came from a pro-style offense with several years of experience successfully operating NFL-type concepts, and his mental maturity and poise shone on game film. The pre-draft knocks on Young were his exceeding lack of size and questions about his deep ball velocity.
No. 2 pick C.J. Stroud wasn't really a developmental prospect, either. As with every player making the jump from college to the NFL, Stroud had some issues to iron out, but understanding how to read defenses and knowing how to handle pressure (both from the defenses and his own coaches) were not among them. Both Stroud and Young were ready-made NFL starters, by and large.
That was not the case for the next three quarterbacks selected in 2023. Anthony Richardson, Will Levis and Hendon Hooker all bore the "developmental" or "project" label from most analysts and pundits. None more so than Richardson, the No. 4 overall pick out of Florida. An athletic wunderkind, Richardson was a one-year starter for the Gators as a prospect who hadn't even turned 21 yet ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft.
CBS Sports nicely summed up Richardson as a prospect with this blurb in their scouting report,
Anthony Richardson has off-the-charts athleticism both in the pocket and outside of it, but he is so incredibly raw that he has a long way to go to be a starting NFL quarterback. He will leave the pocket too early and too often miss open reads to attempt more difficult throws.
After two seasons in Indianapolis, the Richardson scouting report would largely read the same. Through 15 starts in two injury-marred years, Richardson has barely completed 50 percent of his pass attempts and thrown for more INTs (13) than TDs (11). He still routinely misreads the defense, missing easy opportunities and failing to establish any sort of offensive flow for the Colts. There are the occasional flashes of "wow", but not nearly enough to convince head coach Shane Steichen or GM Chris Ballard to anoint him the starter and keep riding the development road.
The Colts effectively pulled the plug on the Richardson project this week. Steichen named underwhelming vet Daniel Jones the starting QB over Richardson. Jones has thrown for more INTs (13) than TDs (10) in the last two years in 16 starts with the Giants, playing his way out of New York after six largely uninspiring seasons.
Steichen went so far as to name Jones the unquestioned starter for all of 2025 (barring injury, of course). That's a white flag on developing Richardson any further.
As for Levis and Hooker, both remain well behind the developmental curve. Injuries have hindered both, with Hooker coming into the NFL with a knee injury that wiped out most of his rookie campaign, and Levis now sidelined for the 2025 season.
Levis was the first pick of the second round, No. 33 overall by the Titans. While Levis did get one season at Kentucky playing under Jaguars head coach Liam Cohen (the Wildcats' 2021 OC), he was seldom asked to make more than one progression. Levis' college tape showed high-end athletic potential sullied by an inability to read defenses, notably picking up blitzes, and erstwhile struggles with completing relatively easy throws. Two years of reps in Tennessee did nothing to convince a new Titans regime to have any further faith in Levis' development, and the Titans selected Cam Ward No. 1 overall in 2025. It's still preseason, but already there are positive signs that Ward can manipulate a defense and manage an NFL offense better than Levis did before his season-ending injury.
Hooker has fumbled away the backup QB spot in Detroit, still struggling to adapt from a simplistic college offense to an intricate NFL system, and also the bigger/faster/smarter NFL defenders he's going up against, too. Faced with the challenge of longtime journeyman backup Kyle Allen, Hooker wilted in preseason games too frequently for the Lions to trust him behind Jared Goff. Hooker is essentially the same in-game project three years after the Lions selected him in the third round (67th overall) to be nothing more than a quality No. 2.
Tennessee and Detroit can at least take some solace in the fact that they didn't burn a top-20 pick on a developmental project, unlike the Colts did with Richardson or the 49ers did with Trey Lance in 2021.
There is a cosmic balance needed with drafting a developmental quarterback highly. The team has to give enough time and reps, both in practices and game situations, for the project to progress. The coaching staff has to be willing to take the inevitable lumps, not to mention the losses that come with the growing pains of bringing a young QB up to NFL speed. For the Colts, that patience with Richardson ran out after two frustrating seasons. That's despite having a proven QB coach in Steichen at the helm, with a veteran OC in Jim Bob Cooter by his side to help, too.
Now the No. 4 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft will enter his fourth NFL season (2026) with even less development than expected. It's difficult to envision this Colts regime being willing to invest much more time, resources or patience into Richardson — if they even survive the failed gamble on his development. That fate now largely lies in the hands of Daniel Jones and not the Colts' self-chosen solution in Richardson.