5 Things We Need to See From Anthony Richardson vs. Eagles

Here are five things that we have to see from the Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback in the preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Indianapolis Colts (hopefully) found their franchise quarterback of the future in this past draft, selecting Anthony Richardson with the fourth overall pick. Richardson has already been named the team's starting quarterback for the 2023 season, which means the time is officially now for the young passer to get acclimated to the league.

Richardson is a rather inexperienced player, only amassing 13 starts in his three years at the collegiate level. What he lacks in experience he makes up for in pure athletic ability, testing out as one of the most athletic players in the history of the NFL Combine. The athletic potential was one of the major selling points in this young QB, but he still needs to refine his overall game before the Colts can truly feel good about their top selection.

Richardson is going to get the entirety of the 2023 season (plus the next couple of years as well) to see what he is made of in this league. Thursday night's preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles is a minor stepping stone in his career, but it is another opportunity for him to get reps against a semi-real NFL defense.

With all of that said, let's jump into five things that we have to see from Richardson in his limited playing time tonight:

1.) Ball Security

© Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

One of the bigger concerns for Richardson coming out of college was his turnover numbers. In 24 career college games played, Richardson threw 15 interceptions and had 6 fumbles. These turnover concerns were a mixture of poor mechanics and the tendency to try and play hero ball far too often, and the hope is that the Colts can straighten out those two concerns with time.

These concerns were amplified in the Colts' first preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, as Richardson threw an interception on the sixth play of the game. The pick came down to a miscommunication along with the aforementioned concerns, but you still don't want to see negative plays like that (even if it is just the preseason).

Tonight, one of the biggest points of emphasis for Richardson has to be control within the offense and limiting the negative plays as we saw in the first preseason game.

2.) Cleaner Mechanics

It's no secret that Richardson was a historically inaccurate passer at the college level, completing just 53.8% of his passes in his final season. It is unreasonable to expect him to enter this game tonight with picture-perfect mechanics and elite accuracy, but I do want to see a little bit more efficiency than we saw in the first preseason game.

Richardson wasn't horribly inaccurate against the Bills, but he did leave a few passes high due to not following through on his front foot with his mechanics. This made some relatively routine throws appear much more difficult than they should have been.

The hope is that Richardson can come into this game tonight and be much more relaxed and loose with his throwing motion in order to clean up a few of those mistakes from two weeks ago.

3.) Control at the Line of Scrimmage

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The Colts had a major issue last year with communication in the trenches. The offensive line seemingly allowed a pressure or a sack anytime an opposing defense sent a blitz, and the communication up front was one of the biggest reasons why. I'm not expecting a rookie quarterback like Richardson to completely fix this issue in year one, but I want to see him bring some control back to that group up front.

Richardson's natural ability to extend plays will help this offensive line tremendously in 2023, but I want to see that growth in calling out protections prior to the snap. A major point to watch tonight, especially with veteran center Ryan Kelly likely not suiting up, is how well this offensive line communicates up front against this dangerous Eagles' pass rush.

The quarterback isn't always to blame when these issues arise, but I would love to see Richardson take control with these protection calls in his limited action.

4.) Impact in the Run Game

© Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports

It's only the preseason so I don't want to see the Colts' franchise quarterback out there running the ball too often, but I do want to see his overall impact on that area of the offense. Running back Deon Jackson had a solid yards per carry against the Bills with the starters two weeks ago (5.8 YPC) and a majority of that had to do with the spacing that Richardson brings.

The simple threat of Richardson's rushing ability opens up so many lanes for running backs in the middle of the defense. That translated back in preseason Week 1 against the Bills, and the hope is that trend can continue against the Eagles tonight.

5.) Just One Deep Ball (Please)

© Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

Richardson was awfully close to connecting with wide receiver Alec Pierce on a 35-yard touchdown pass against the Bills. He dropped a perfect pass right into the hands of Pierce down the field, the second-year wide receiver just failed to secure the catch as he fell to the ground.

All I ask for tonight is to see these two actually connect on one of those shot plays. They have had a great connection down the field throughout training camp, so it would be satisfying (to say the least) to see this duo shine in the preseason finale.

The Anthony Richardson-Alec Pierce connection is going to be strong in 2023, I just want to see it connect once in the preseason to feel excited about this upcoming campaign.

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