CBS Ranks Anthony Richardson, Rookie QB Debuts
Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson made his debut last weekend in a 23-19 loss to the Buffalo Bills. There was plenty to get excited about and plenty to indicate Richardson is a work in progress.
CBS Sports ranked the all of the rookie quarterbacks' debuts over the weekend. While a couple of possessions in a preseason game is hardly conclusive, their analysis of his debut is solid.
Richardson was the third quarterback taken behind Bryce Young (Panthers) and C.J. Stroud (Texans), and his debut was ranked sixth by CBS.
"Everyone expected the supersized athlete to find mixed results once his raw game hit the NFL, and that was true against the Bills, with Richardson flinging an ugly pick off his back foot before rebounding with a beauty of a bomb that should've been hauled in for a score," wrote Cody Benjamin. "Finishing 7 of 12 for 67 yards while teasing his mobility, he proved something vital: his unteachable traits are elite. If Indianapolis can ensure the first-round Florida product keeps growing as a decision-maker, look out."
ESPN ranked Richardson as the sixth-best runner with the sixth-best arm strength in the NFL before he ever took a snap. His unteachable traits are elite.
He'll learn from the interception on his first possession and continue to improve. The rate of ascension to his ceiling will help determine the success the Colts have this year.
Young finished just behind Richardson in seventh, and Stroud fell all the way to 13th. Quarterbacks taken later in the draft typically faced players who likely won't be in the league on September 1st.
Fifth-round pick Dorian Thompson-Robinson of the Browns and fourth-round pick Stetson Bennett of the Rams were deemed to have the best and second-best debuts respectively.
