Should Raiders draft Anthony Richardson? 3 reasons why Josh McDaniels should build around Florida QB
While Anthony Richardson enjoyed an up year in 2022, the Las Vegas Raiders are attempting to bounce back from a down one. After a disappointing performance in Josh McDaniels' debut season with the Las Vegas Raiders, Derek Carr ended up paying for his job.
Now, it is up to the head coach to get his guy this offseason. While many have speculated about Aaron Rodgers landing in the city of sin, it is equally likely that fresh NFL blood could be on the way.
Will the Raiders draft a quarterback?
There are several quarterbacks with first-round potential this year, unlike in 2022, meaning the team has a great shot at getting a quality rookie prospect. One such prospect they should take a good, long look at is Anthony Richardson.
There are a few reasons why the quarterback would be a good fit for the former Patriots' offensive coordinator.
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#1 Anthony Richardson is coachable
The Patriot Way requires players who can learn and get better at things that aren't already in their wheelhouse. In college, Richardson steadily improved year over year. In his freshman season (2020), he barely saw the field and threw for one touchdown and one interception.
Some of Anthony Richardson’s tape is just flat out absurd. This is a QB 👇
High risk? Yes.
High reward? Yes.
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In the following season, he showed enough in practice to convince the coaches to trust him in a bigger spot. He threw for 529 yards, six touchdowns, and five interceptions. In his third season, the coaches essentially gave him the reins. He threw for the best ratio of his career with 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
While the numbers are not eye-popping, the trend shows an ability to improve over a long period of time, which could be exactly what McDaniels is looking for.
#2 Established good weather fit
Of course, when one plays in the NFL, they play in cold weather at one point or another every season. However, getting a player who is already adjusted to the same type of weather as your locale puts themselves ahead. Weather plays a big part in the mental endurance side of the game. If a team gets a quarterback that likes colder climates but they reside in the south, it creates a drain.
Stressing and adjusting to the weather during at least one's rookie season could be the final straw that leads to players snowballing out of the league. If the weather gets under their skin and forces a loss of concentration, it could lead to a bad game, which could cause a chain reaction of events ultimately leading to disappointing results in the end.
Put simply, details matter when planning about the future.
#3 Zigging while AFC West zags
Arguably the most appealing aspect of Richardson's potential isn't his arm or his ability to be coached. Rather, it is his legs that could be the biggest selling point. In his final two years of college, the quarterback rushed for more than 1000 yards in 19 games. Put simply, those are Lamar Jackson-level numbers.
Considering the head coach already has experience coaching mobile quarterbacks (Cam Newton), it could be a match made in Heaven. While AFC West defenses have taken strides to stop Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert, they haven't made any efforts to stop a Lamar Jackson-type player. As such, the Raiders could catch the division with woefully underprepared defenses.
Meaning, the Raiders could dominate divisional matchups on offense if all goes according to plan. Of course, as the offseason is young, the team could still go in a number of directions. Will they choose to go with Richardson?