Anthony Richardson's Traits Praised as 'Not of This Universe' by Colts Exec

As the Indianapolis Colts zeroed in on Anthony Richardson as their top target in the 2023 NFL draft, the front office became overwhelmed by the Florida product's generational talent.

"He is not of this universe," a member of the Colts' personnel department told Stephen Holder of ESPN.

Richardson is, on paper, already one of the greatest athletes to ever play the quarterback position. Measuring in at 6'4" and 244 pounds, Richardson ran a jaw-dropping 4.43-second 40-yard dash and wowed scouts with an NBA-esque 40 ½-inch vertical leap. His 99 athleticism score was by far the best among quarterbacks and does not even take into account his generational arm strength.

From a purely physical standpoint, Richardson is as close to a perfect modern quarterback prospect as you can find.

"As a player, I'm not human. I'm an alien," Richardson told Cameron Wolfe of NFL.com. "I don't think I can be compared to anybody. As a person, I'm normal—just a fun-loving guy who likes to make people smile."

Of course, there's no shortage of questions about Richardson due to his lack of production at the college level. He threw for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns against nine interceptions while adding 654 yards and nine scores on the ground last season, numbers that don't exactly scream superstar. Accuracy was a major issue, with Richardson completing just 53.8 percent of his passes and concluding his college career with a ghastly 9-of-27 performance against Florida State.

The lack of noteworthy improvement from an accuracy standpoint made most believe Richardson would be a project quarterback, but that doesn't appear to be the case. Colts owner Jim Irsay strongly hinted Richardson would be thrown right into the fire.

"I think it's important," Irsay told reporters. "You get better by playing. I mean, practice and preseason games and watching in a quarterback room, that's great. But, man, I'll tell you, he'd get better by playing, and it's something that it is really important. Because, again, his development [is] so much of a key to the franchise's future. It is the critical key."

Because of the raw state of Richardson's development, finding the right situation will be paramount to his success at the next level. It remains to be seen whether throwing him into the deep end and hoping for the best will be the right call.