Florida Gators redshirt sophomore quarterback Anthony Richardson has declared for the NFL draft. Richardson was a first-year starter for the Gators this season, but has played in 22 games in total.
Anthony Richardson started in all 12 games this past season. The Gators went 6-6, including 3-5 in the SEC. Richardson went 176/327, a 53.8% rate, and had 2549 yards passing, for 7.8 yards per attempt. He had 17 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions. Richardson also added 103 rushes for 654 yards — an average of 6.3 yards per rush — and had nine touchdowns on the ground.
Anthony Richardson had a 79.8 PFF grade on the season and had many high points, but he also had a lot of inconsistencies that may give NFL draft scouts some pause. There were four games in which Richardson graded below a 65 on PFF’s scale, including two in the 40’s.
However, he also had four games that graded above an 80. If he can eliminate his low end performances, he can be a much better overall quarterback.
Anthony Richardson’s NFL Draft Prospects
The NFL draft tends to love quarterbacks. They also tend to love prospects with extreme physical gifts. Anthony Richardson is both of these things. Richardson is currently looking as though he could be anywhere from a mid first-round pick to an early second-round pick. Richardson could rise in the draft due to his physical traits and an abundance of teams in need of quarterbacks.
Currently, Damian Parson of The Draft Network projects Anthony Richardson as the 9th overall pick in the draft. It is definitely a hot take, and Parson has him as the third quarterback off the board. NFL Mock Draft Database’s 2023 Consensus Big Board, a compilation of industry big boards and mock drafts, currently has Anthony Richardson as the 32nd overall player. They also have him as QB4.