Most essential Colts, No. 1: Anthony Richardson feels ready to explode if he can stay healthy
In a salary-cap league like the NFL, finding building blocks is essential. As teams churn and burn the roster through the draft and bargain signings in free agency, it helps to find the players who are either a cut above the rest or can perform a task few others can. They relieve the pressure on everyone.
Over the next few weeks, we'll be ranking the 15 most essential players to the Colts' success in 2024. It's a subjective process, weighing factors such as ability, positional value within a scheme, age, leadership and durability.
To make it simpler, we're asking the following two questions about these players:
1. How difficult would he be to replace for more than a month?
2. What does the Colts' 2024 ceiling become if this player hits his?
With the return of Anthony Richardson from shoulder surgery, the Colts’ outlook is on the future but also on the present after a 9-8 season fell a fourth-down conversion short of winning the AFC South. This list will primarily look at 2024 value, but certain players' development for the long-term can help to break ties along the way.
Here's the final list:
1. Anthony Richardson, quarterback
2. Jonathan Taylor, running back
3. Michael Pittman Jr., wide receiver
4. Bernhard Raimann, offensive tackle
5. Braden Smith, offensive tackle
6. DeForest Buckner, defensive tackle
9. Kenny Moore II, nickel cornerback
12. Laiatu Latu, defensive end
14. Zaire Franklin, linebacker
Just missed: Dayo Odeyingbo, Ryan Kelly, Jaylon Jones
Today, we finish out with No. 1, Anthony Richardson.
Position: Quarterback
Age: 22
Experience: 2nd season
Last year's rank: No. 1
2023 stats: 50 of 84, 577 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT on 6.9 yards per attempt, plus 25 carries for 136 yards and 4 TDs rushing on 5.4 yards per carry, with 4 starts in 4 games
Why he's here: It's a quarterback league, and especially a quarterback conference. After years of searching for ways to minimize the position's impact post-Andrew Luck, the Colts have leaned into chasing the upside with the No. 4 pick in last year's draft.
Anthony Richardson only attempted 84 passes across four games of a rookie season shortened by two different injuries, but the player the Colts saw progressing is the one they wanted to see. He began a bit timid and robotic as a passer against the Jaguars and Texans, determined to execute the play calls as drawn up and to show the mechanics he didn't have in college.
GO DEEPER: Chasing Tim Tebow, idolizing Tom Brady, fighting fires: Making of Colts QB Anthony Richardson
But once his rushing upside showed up in Week 2 against the Texans, when he took two runs for touchdowns with a defense looking completely fooled, a looser player began to arrive. The Colts had to wait a couple weeks through a brain injury, but when they fell down 23-0 to the Rams, the loose version of the most athletic quarterback prospect in NFL history came alive.
Those flashes -- like the deep ball down the right sideline he launched to Alec Pierce while flat-footed with Aaron Donald immediately in his lap -- were what the Colts had to hold tight to after he went down the next week on a basic designed run and did play again that season, having sprained the AC joint in his shoulder. They'd seen the magic in his rushing, as he became the first quarterback with four rushing touchdowns in his first three starts. But they also realized he could pass it better than anyone expected.
The giant question, of course, is whether he can stay on the field to hit the upside that 6-foot-4 and 244-pound size, a 4.43-second 40-yard dash and a 40.5-inch vertical jump can yield. Injuries have affected three of his past four football seasons, and his style of extending plays and running on designed calls is going to invite tough hits over 17 games.
But he has only had one major injury since high school, too.
The Colts have a decent floor as a team without Richardson. Shane Steichen showed he can elevate Gardner Minshew to the Pro Bowl and win nine games that way, and now he has a better backup in Joe Flacco.
But the goal isn't to win nine games and miss the playoffs. For the Colts to become something real in an AFC ruled by monster quarterbacks, they need theirs to start becoming one, too. The potential is all there, between Richardson's ability and drive, the explosive duo he'll form with Jonathan Taylor, the weapons at his disposal in Michael Pittman Jr. and Josh Downs, the sturdy offensive line and the creativity of Steichen pulling the strings.
But a franchise that has dealt with quarterback shoulder injuries for years knows how low the floor can feel for the long-term, too.
So much is riding on what this season brings for No. 5.
Contact Nate Atkins at natkins@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @NateAtkins_.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Most essential Colts, No. 1: It's time for Anthony Richardson's upside
