Todd McShay explains why the Indianapolis Colts take Anthony Richardson at No. 3

ESPN’s Todd McShay released his latest Mock Draft 4.0 Tuesday, and now has three quarterbacks being selected with the first three picks of the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. McShay predicts that CJ Stroud and Bryce Young will be selected first and second overall, but had the Indianapolis Colts trading up with the Arizona Cardinals to select Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson No. 3 overall.

Richardson has been one of the hottest topics surrounding this year’s draft, as McShay explained what he believes team’s thought processes will be regarding selecting the former Gators QB.

“Well it’s the position, and it’s his unbelievable talent, and what he can be,” McShay said. “And if you’re an organization, whether it’s the Colts at three moving up one spot, or Seattle sitting at five, or another team like Tennessee, or Washington at 16, or the Buccaneers at 19. Some team I think is going to trade up for Anthony Richardson at some point and bet on his upside.”

Upside and a high ceiling have been some of the keywords used to describe Richardson as a prospect through the draft evaluation process. There’s no doubt that his physical traits jump off the page, so much so that McShay believes one of the 32 teams will trade up for him.

“And that upside is 6’4, 244 pounds, running a 4.43. And you can see at the pro day, you can see flashes of it on tape, he flicks wrist rolling left in one of these throws off balance and drives it 60 yards on a line. Every throw is easy for him, he doesn’t have to strain,” McShay explained.

Richardson may lack the experience of some of the other top quarterback prospects. But McShay believes he’s comparable to one of the best quarterbacks currently in the NFL, and with the proper guidance and development could be a truly special player at the next level.

“Now we’ve got to get him more comfortable, just 13 career starts in college. But I look at Josh Allen, I think that’s the comp physically, Josh Allen was more experienced coming out of Wyoming. Again 13 starts for Anthony Richardson, but when you’re talking about big, mobile, rifle arm – there’s a lot to work with here,” McShay said. “I just hope he finds a place where there’s a Brian Daboll to develop him like Josh Allen had in Buffalo.”