The Carolina Panthers hold the No.
1 overall pick, and if I were them, I’d pull the trigger on the Florida quarterback.
Panthers owner David Tepper made his fortune on being bold and betting on upside.
I’ll tell you why Tepper might stop now.
Because Bryce Young and C.J.
Stroud are more polished prospects.
Stroud is the “safe” pick.
Young is the unprecedentedly diminutive, slight-of-build QB to be under consideration at this spot.
For the uninitiated, hey enjoy some basic highlights:
I know.
Sometimes in life, you’re presented with new, better information and SHOCKER!
you change your mind.
[…] Richardson completed only 53.8% of his passes this year.
That’s beyond awful.
Sounds like the boilerplate evaluation the vast majority of people make regarding Richardson, doesn’t it?
Stick to my original take ofBryce Young being the can’t-miss, slam-dunk No.
1 pick which he still very well could be.
I wondered what happened tothatplayer the rest of the season.
He is my QB1 in the 2023 draft, and No.
It’s only to confirm what you’ve seen on the game tape.
I’ll now dive deeper into the major points made in the TikTok.
HOWEVER, what if I told you Richardson is far more accurate than that number suggests.
And the way Florida’s offense was set up was so wonky.
You know what else doesn’t help your completion percentage?
ALSO, PFF graded him at 93.1 (out of 100) on deep passes.
Richardson’s glaring issue is in the short area, from one to nine yards.
But even within THOSE splits, you see how easily rectifiable the situation can be.
you could bet the young man isdrillingthat shit leading up to the draft.
Much of the key to it lies in the mental side of the game, too.
Two of those were with Deshaun Watson under center.
With a Brian Hoyer-Ryan Mallett tandem in 2015, and in 2016 with BROCK OSWEILER.
Bill Belichick thought enough of O’Brien to bring him back to New England as OC this year.
That was the apex of Napier’s offensive success.
In the Sun Belt Conference.
With a hat tip toJ.T.
…And it really gets ugly when you watch Florida’s wideouts venture to separate on short-area concepts.
Being on a rebuilding program in the SEC with a new coach in Year 1 is a tough gig.
Young and Stroud have been in far better environmentsandhave a full season’s worth of starting experience over him.
Richardson is not a one read and run quarterback.
You see that play against LSU.
You know about the Combine 40 time.
We’re talking about literally the best athlete to ever play the position.
Again…put this guy in a competently-designed offense with weapons.
On top of that, take full advantage of his unique playmaking ability with his legs.
I’m telling you.
The return on investment is a special, superstar player.
I mentioned that LSU game earlier.
Only his seventh start.
Already showing polish like this:
Being a one-year college starter is a red flag in and of itself.
That’s what makes Richardson such a tricky evaluation for many.
He wouldn’t be a projected high first-round pick.
That teams are even considering such an investment in him shows how ridiculous Richardson’s potential is.
One dubious TBD in Lance.
Trade rumors are swirling around Jones, who’smaybe, what, the seventh- or eighth-best QB in the AFC?
But Mac was so pro-ready!
Such a high floor!
And so deadly accurate with his sparkling 77.4% completion rate coming out of Alabama.
Jury is still out on Kyler, the smallest QB ever drafted No.
1 overall who can’t stay healthy and apparently doesn’t care to work hard at film study.
That’s an insult to him, though.
None of these guys have close to the ceiling that Richardson has.
The only guys from that group who didn’t have documented maturity or attitude issues were Trubisky and Lance.
Play it “safe” with C.J.
Stroud is a rich man’s Dak Prescott in his absolute best-case scenario.
Although I think Young and Stroud are worthy of the No.
The natural upper-body motion, torque and the effortless velocity Richardson can generate are astounding.
Oh yeah, and he could well emerge as the most effective rusher at his position in NFL history.
That’s very much in play.
