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Teams Split on Richardson's Accuracy Potential

Updated March 4, 2023
By Charlie Campbell. Follow Charlie on Twitter @draftcampbell.

The most important trait for any NFL quarterback is accuracy. There have been many good college quarterbacks and first-round picks who did not pan out in the NFL due to accuracy issues. Inaccuracy is the big concern with Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson. His tape contains highlight-reel plays that show off incredible arm strength, athleticism, speed, and playmaking ability. However, there also is a lot of tape of Richardson spraying the ball all over the field and regularly struggling to complete routine passes in the short to intermediate part of the field.

If Richardson were accurate, he would be the slam-dunk No. 1 pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. His inaccuracy, however, has teams feeling he is a developmental project who needs a lot of practice reps and coaching, and should sit behind a veteran to start out his career. The big question with NFL evaluators is if Richardson can ever become accurate enough to consistently move the chains in the short passing game that is staple of every pro offense.

In 2022, his only year as a starter at Florida, Richardson completed a scary 54 percent of his passes. He opened the season by impressing versus Utah, completing 17-of-24 -or 71 percent of - passes, but that was his most accurate game of the year in which he attempted more than 10 passes. The next week, Richardson went only 14-of-35 versus Kentucky. He closed out his season by going 9-of-27 versus Florida State.

Team sources all say they feel Richardson's accuracy can be improved with pro coaching and improving his mechanics. Some sources, however, are skeptical that Richardson will ever be accurate enough to be an effective NFL starter. An example who the optimistic crowd cites is a similar big-armed, great athlete in Josh Allen, who had accuracy issues at Wyoming but has improved them significantly as a pro with the Bills. Other evaluators worry Richardson is just not naturally accurate and that teams will never know what version of Richardson will show up on game day from week-to-week.

Richardson needs to show improved accuracy at his pro day and in private workouts to help ease the concerns in the final weeks before the 2023 NFL Draft.

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