Hype Machine At Full Throttle For Anthony Richardson
March 5th, 2023
Gators QB Anthony Richardson.
Joe couldn’t believe what was all over Twitter yesterday.
Goodness, folks seemed to think this Anthony Richardson of Florida had just thrown for 500 yards and seven touchdowns against a Nick Saban defense.
Instead, this Richardson was going through a glorified track practice at the NFL Combine. He ran. He jumped. He jumped some more. Cool — Joe guesses — if you’re Carl Lewis.
But what did Richardson do against a blitz or a stacked box yesterday? Dunno. How did Richardson fare throwing against dime coverage? Dunno, the NFL didn’t set up those drills. But dudes were allowed to throw to one receiver with no defenders, all the while wearing shorts.
So Richardson looked strong warming up for flag football practice. Awesome.
Get ready, Jason Licht!
Man, the hype for AR-15 was fully out of control yesterday.
Joe sees the momentum building for the Bucs to draft AR-15 with the No. 19 pick. Maybe even trading up to get him.
Apparently, AR-15 set an athletic record at the combine. Joe saw the other fop four quarterbacks on the list. The best one was Tyrod Taylor. Oh good! AR-15 beat out Tyrod Taylor! Call Canton!
Would Joe draft AR-15? Heck yeah, maybe in the third round. This dude is a project. Folks forget the NFL is about passing. Period. Every other physical attribute is icing and none of it means a damn if a quarterback cannot pass.
Last Joe checked, Bucs coach Todd Bowles isn’t planning on turning a Day 1 draft pick of a quarterback into a linebacker or a tight end or installing a wishbone offense.
Could AR-15 turn into a top-shelf quarterback? Darn right he could, but nothing in his one season as a starter at Florida (outside of his strong performance in a win over Utah) or that nonsense in Indianapolis yesterday tells Joe that AR-15 is the next Lamar Jackson, who was so much better than AR-15 in college as a passer.
And don’t even get Joe started with the comps of AR-15 to Cam Newton. They’re borderline insulting.
Joe would certainly draft AR-15. For real. But not in the first two rounds. And no way before Hendon Hooker of Tennessee.
Re-watching Kentucky at Florida today. This Top 5 and Top 10 overall talk for Will Levis and Anthony Richardson is insane. pic.twitter.com/J1g1h4ku3y
— Brad Powers (@BradPowers7) February 22, 2023
March 5th, 2023 at 12:08 am
By reporting on the hype machine, you become part of the hype machine. Does this article increase or decrease the speculation of Richardson to the Bucs? It’s about the volume of information, not the content at this stage. It’s the NFL offseason speculation industrial complex.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:23 am
As I was reminded yesterday…..
Anthony Richardson is highly likely this year Malik Willis…
Last year Malik was all the talk right on into the Draft as IF he would be the surprise of the draft… Willis drafted in the 3rd round…
AR could very well be facing the same fate… Over hyped!
March 5th, 2023 at 12:34 am
Dude is a bigger faster Kyler Murray or Lamar Jackson.
I am Sure he will be a premier QB. Just not this yr IMO
March 5th, 2023 at 12:36 am
Wanna bet Tye??
March 5th, 2023 at 1:04 am
He will be a bust if drafted in top ten, he can not read a defense, has no accuracy and can not anticipate his targets
March 5th, 2023 at 1:46 am
Bust
March 5th, 2023 at 2:08 am
Stetson surprised me yesterday.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:11 am
He will probably land with the Panthers or Washington
March 5th, 2023 at 3:54 am
Joe what are thoughts on Kid from Shepard College Tyson Bagent as a mid rounder
March 5th, 2023 at 4:43 am
Can’t pass = bust. Not accurate = bust. Teams will stack the box and dare him to read defenses and throw 15+ yard passes.
March 5th, 2023 at 4:56 am
The hype train that will never end is the one that hungers for Jalen Hurts 2.0, Jalen Hurts 3.0, Malik Bust Willis 2.0, and of course the next Pat Mahomey etc. This draft is full of these “athletes”. Given a choice, they’d be better off rolling with Trask, who at least shows some classic quarterbacking minimum standards, and that is pretty sad.
March 5th, 2023 at 5:30 am
Record Vertical Jump.
Fastest QB this year.
Wow.
He is going to be GReat. Not.
Go Bucs!
March 5th, 2023 at 5:52 am
Darnell Washington at 19!!!
March 5th, 2023 at 5:53 am
Hooker or DTR in the 3rd
March 5th, 2023 at 6:09 am
Watch the Florida Tennessee game from 2022. AR kept it close by being a superb athlete. Hooker won it by being a QB.
March 5th, 2023 at 6:16 am
Hopefully some other chump team will pick him before the Bucs can even think about it.
March 5th, 2023 at 6:34 am
With the NFL hype machine rolling there’s no way AR falls to us at 19. The kid could be great at some point but circumstances, coaching, all the stars need to line up. Let somebody else roll the dice.
March 5th, 2023 at 6:38 am
Over hyped and overpaid Quarterbacks that won’t smell the Superbowl:
Kyler Murray
others
How this guy gets paid as much as he does is beyond me. He just don’t have ‘it’. And due to the team paying him the ridiculous amount he is getting, they can’t build a team strong enough to help get him over the hump
Next up for the award seems to be:
Anthony Richardson
He ain’t got it either.
March 5th, 2023 at 6:44 am
It would be exciting to have a player with that athletic ability he has but I couldn’t disagree with a single word you wrote @Joe.
If I was the Bucs OC I might like to have Richardson on my roster, using him selectively, similarly as to how the Saints used Hill a bit when Drew Brees was their QB. But the Bucs are at an early point in their rebuild where they really can’t afford to even spend a 3’rd round pick on this type of player. We’ve got too many other more basic needs.
If I was their GM the only way I would consider taking Richardson would be if I had traded down multiple times in the early rounds picking up several additional picks where I’d be more willing to invest one in a project such as this. But, if was the Bucs QB though I’d probably hate it. Every time I threw an incomplete pass some fans would be screaming for Richardson to take over.
March 5th, 2023 at 6:55 am
He will be great for the running game Canales wants to implement. We will have packages for him like the Saints did with Tasome Hill. Can’t wait!!!! If he learns to throw it will be a bonus.
March 5th, 2023 at 7:05 am
What a bunch of haters! Let that young man have his moment and if he gets drafted in the first round I hope he succeeds.
March 5th, 2023 at 7:10 am
Whomever ARs sports agency reps are have been doing a masterful job pushing what’s good about him which is drowning out the red flags. The expectations compared to what he is as a QB, are already too high and it’s only February lol.
@Mad Max yes, Trask vs. Hooker/DTR would be awesome this spring and summer. Throw a Mike White or a Cooper Rush or even Heinecke into that mix and we’re cooking at QB. Canales gets 3 young guys to absorb his playbook, so imo the competition would be more of skills challenge, as opposed to Trask being kept on the sideline because he’s the least tenured QB on the roster.
March 5th, 2023 at 7:19 am
He won’t make it pass 5 Seattle 6 Detroit 7 Vegas 8 Atlanta or 9 Carolina all 5 need QBs and fans to get hyped
March 5th, 2023 at 7:22 am
Ya man throw some season salt and some trash on top while we’re at it lol. Sounds 👍 for a qb plan. The whole thing makes me nauseous
March 5th, 2023 at 7:24 am
Charles Lindsey Says: “Joe what are thoughts on Kid from Shepard College”
The Trask haters assure us quarterbacks from schools that have never produced a great NFL quarterback are a no go. 😛
March 5th, 2023 at 7:28 am
AR at 19 lmao. Joe are you sure you’re at the combine. The consensus he will never make it to the 11th pick in the draft and actually could be the first overall. I’m not in that camp, but man how does everyone understand this except you!
March 5th, 2023 at 7:34 am
He completed less then 54 percent of his passes in college, let that sink in.
March 5th, 2023 at 7:40 am
AR-15 in the 5th round, Bucs should not even waist their 3rd rounder on em!
March 5th, 2023 at 7:48 am
Bennett would be good in the 5th or 6th round if he can stay sober.
March 5th, 2023 at 7:53 am
PLZ GOD NO
March 5th, 2023 at 8:11 am
From what I’ve seen. AR-15 is a more muscular version of Jay- Miss Winston. He can’t read defenses, flashes some glimpses of greatness in his plays, but then can hit an open receiver to save his life. Then comparing him to cam newton is a disgrace onto itself. To make things worse they gave this guy the nick name AR-15 which is possibly one of the most accurate rifles on the civilian market to a QB that has accuracy issues. This almost sounds like an SNL skit.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:18 am
The next Jameis Winston??? He can have all the physical attributes in the world but a mental midget won’t make it in the NFL. There are about 12-15 humans walking the earth that have the mental capacity along with poise to be great NFL QB, and Richardson won’t be joining that club.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:20 am
I dunno, Joe.
Maybe the NFL will institute 40’s, broad jumps, cone drills, and vertical jumps for OTs in the future…
So the dude could have great value.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:21 am
I would bet against AR-15 in the NFL.
NFL is more about processing speed throwing the football.
When Justin Fields came into the league will all the hype, I suggested that he was exposed as having less than average processing speed. In his two years since that time, he has shown nothing to me to suggest that his processing speed is even up to average.
I expect the same from AR-15. The fans and media will say that he has not been coached up enough to whatever team he goes to. But most of the time, it is just the innate ability of the quarterback to recognize things a little bit quicker than the other QB’s in the NFL.
Can Fields or AR-15 have a year or two where they appear to be pretty decent and possibly get to 10 or 11 wins? Sure. But to consistently win against better defenses you will likely get in the playoffs, no way.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:28 am
Josh Allen was a project too. Wouldn’t expect a group who salivated over Johnny Manziel to understand how to scout a QB though.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:37 am
Pretty sure that Jason Licht does not draft players based upon the amount of hype on Twitter.
March 5th, 2023 at 8:50 am
AR-15 could barely move the ball against USF – one of the worst defenses in the NCAA last year.
What is he going to do against NFL defenses?
If a team wants to give up a high first round pick on this guy then let them go for it…
The Bucs have too many other holes to fill on this roster to draft a project QB.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:22 am
I think the kid could be special. Some of the things he can do is off the charts. He is a project tho. Let him wait and learn like trask. Third round no higher. We have needs for 1 and 2.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:36 am
Might as well set the team back 5 more years. Of course with the average age of most Floridians that is a lifetime. And since most Buc fans are in their 20’s and 30’s, no big deal.
March 5th, 2023 at 9:39 am
Looks a lot like the back up for the Ravens
If we were gonna run a wishbone or pure zone read until we get the kid maimed
March 5th, 2023 at 10:02 am
Beyond his measurables, which are eye-popping, this guy is not an NFL QB yet.
Can he be a serviceable QB? Who knows, but not today.
His physical traits suggest he should be a TE or something besides a QB.
March 5th, 2023 at 10:22 am
With any luck he goes early to a fellow NFC South team. We need a feel good story or two early on in this draft.
March 5th, 2023 at 10:23 am
….and NOT the Bucs! Just needed to clarify.
March 5th, 2023 at 10:48 am
There’s a video of him being interviewed/grilled by Steve Mariucci on NFLcom, kid comes off very well, you should watch it
March 5th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Beej. I didn’t say the guy couldn’t speak well or think well. I just think he is a long shot at becoming a franchise QB.
March 5th, 2023 at 12:26 pm
Richardson has more athletic talent in his pinky than nearly anyone else on our roster. This issue isn’t whether he’s ready…Nope…It’s whether this coaching staff is even remotely capable of developing him (or any QB for that matter). He is the kind of QB that you build an entire system around vs square pegging it.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:31 pm
Yes I remember the JaMar us Russell hype too
March 5th, 2023 at 2:36 pm
Gifted athlete inaccurate thrower.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:36 pm
As long as AR is gone before we pick I will be happy. I hope there are 4 QBs gone before we pick, and a RB because that’ll push a better position player down to us.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:39 pm
Trask threw for 400 yards and 3 TDs and ran for a TD against a Nick Saban defense.
Just saying.
March 5th, 2023 at 2:46 pm
Bucs need to draft an edge rusher at 19
If they don’t draft Lukas Van Ness – fire everyone.
March 5th, 2023 at 3:57 pm
UF doesn’t make NFL QBs. Prove me wrong.
March 5th, 2023 at 5:54 pm
“mark2001 Says:
March 5th, 2023 at 12:14 pm
Beej. I didn’t say the guy couldn’t speak well or think well. I just think he is a long shot at becoming a franchise QB.”
Oh I didn’t mean it that way, Steve Mariucci gave him a X’s and O’s test in the video, and he acquitted himself very well. His stock with me went up quite a bit
March 6th, 2023 at 12:37 am
I’m hoping the hype means he’s taken before we have a chance to. Dudr comes across as a bust. Being an elite athlete.well qb is one of the last positiona I’m looking for that in