ESPN Adds to Florida Gators' QB Anthony Richardson's NFL Draft Hype

Anthony Richardson is becoming a household name among NFL Draft experts with the Florida Gators entering a pivotal rebuild season.

Photo: Anthony Richardson; Credit: Alex Shepherd

Florida Gators quarterback Anthony Richardson is garnering serious attention ahead of the 2022 season, his first as the team's full-time starting signal-caller since entering the program as a true freshman in 2020. 

This week, ESPN NFL Draft insider Jordan Reid recently took a deep dive into several of the upcoming class QB prospects, including Richardson among the top five to know.

Though Richardson hasn't had much experience thus far in his career, throwing the football just 66 times over the past two seasons combined, his potential is through the roof, given his size and big-play ability. Last season, Richardson ran for 401 yards and three touchdowns on 51 carries, one of the most efficient running quarterbacks in college football.

It's been well-noted that Richardson reached 21 miles per hour on an 80-yard touchdown scamper against USF in 2021.

Reid sees the potential in Richardson but cautions that he hasn't done it for a full season, yet, leading him to be placed as the fifth out of five quarterbacks to watch. Here's what Reid concluded about including Richardson on the list:

Richardson will be in a new offense under new coach Billy Napier as he enters his redshirt sophomore season as the unquestioned starter. And Richardson has the potential to generate excitement because of his high-end traits. But right now, it's simply only that.

Along with Richardson, Reid mentions Ohio State's C.J. Stroud, Alabama's Bryce Young, Miami's Tyler Van Dyke and Kentucky's Will Levis as the top quarterbacks to know for next year's draft, if they all should opt to enter. 

But, Reid isn't the only person that feels highly about Richardson, either. According to Denny Thompson, a quarterback coach based in Jacksonville (Fla) who happens to train Richardson, the young Gators QB was among 30 or so underclassmen prospects that were invited to the NFL Combine this year.

Thompson mentioned the nugget during a podcast, GatorBytes, hosted by himself and 1010XL's Ryan 'Hacker' Green a couple of days ago.   

How is the offseason? How does Anthony Richardson look? How is Billy Napier? Denny and Hacker break it down on this week’s edition of Gator Bytes, presented by Southeast Orthopedic Specialists.

Posted by Florida Gators at 1010xl on Thursday, June 9, 2022

Those players don't participate in drills but do get the opportunity to take measurements and meet with some NFL teams to get ahead of the scouting process if they should declare the following season. 

That demonstrates just how NFL teams might feel about the quarterback's chances of being among the top players to be selected next year, a testament not only to Richardson himself but the Florida football program as a whole. 

The Gators enter this year with high expectations, even with a new regime entering the fold, but there's perhaps no greater pressure than that on the young QB, who is taking over, hoping to put the Gators back on the map. 

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