Colts, Bucs Trade for Anthony Richardson, Will Levis in Todd McShay's NFL Mock Draft

There will be no shortage of action in the first round of the 2023 NFL draft if Todd McShay is right.

The ESPN insider released the latest version of his mock draft Tuesday, and he predicted the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Indianapolis Colts will trade up to select their next franchise quarterbacks.

In this scenario, Indianapolis acquired the No. 3 pick from the Arizona Cardinals to take Florida's Anthony Richardson, while Tampa Bay landed the No. 14 pick from the New England Patriots and drafted Kentucky's Will Levis.

Where Richardson and Levis land will be one of the most intriguing storylines of the entire draft.

While Ohio State's C.J. Stroud and Alabama's Bryce Young could go No. 1 and 2 to the Carolina Panthers and Houston Texans—as they did in McShay's mock draft—there is much more uncertainty regarding the spots for the next two quarterbacks on the board.

That both were inconsistent last season while playing in the SEC only adds to that uncertainty.

Richardson completed just 53.8 percent of his passes and finished with fewer than 200 yards through the air seven times. He can make plays with his legs and showed flashes of a big arm both on the field and during workouts leading up to the draft, but he will need to improve his accuracy at the next level.

Levis struggled down the stretch for the Wildcats with fewer than 200 passing yards in four of his last five games, including when he went 16-of-27 for 98 yards, zero touchdowns and three interceptions in a loss to Tennessee.

Both would be high-risk, high-reward picks, but the Colts and Buccaneers need long-term answers at the position and could be the ones to take those chances.

Indianapolis has relied on short-term bridge quarterbacks of late with Matt Ryan, Carson Wentz and Philip Rivers, while Tampa Bay no longer has Tom Brady after he retired this offseason. Baker Mayfield could be just the type of short-term option at the position for the Buccaneers that those recent veterans were for the Colts.

Enter Richardson and Levis as rookies who could sit for some time to start their careers and adjust to the NFL level before attempting to provide their new teams with franchise signal-callers for the foreseeable future.

It may just be worth the risk on draft day.