Patriots 2023 NFL Draft Watch: Anthony Richardson would change everything

The New England Patriots quarterback position is in flux but an opportunity may present itself to go big in the NFL draft. The team is now an NFL afterthought but they can make a splash by trading up to get Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson.

Richardson is an antithetical Patriots quarterback. Absent the experiment with Cam Newton in 2020, the team basically is stuck with immobile quarterbacks.

While the greatest ever, Tom Brady had the ability to slip and slide in the pocket to get things accomplished, his current successor Mac Jones can’t. Also, do the Patriots even have the coaching expertise to utilize a dual-threat quarterback with exceptional escapability?

Drafting Richardson from Florida in the first round would be a sea change. Let’s explore the patriots’ drafting of Richardson.

New England Patriots drafting Richardson changes everything

The Patriots’ offense in 2022 was awful. Poor coaching and a new system wrecked what was a promising offense under Mac Jones in 2021. Jones and the offense were out of sync all season.

So what about Anthony Richardson? First, he’s an athletic marvel. His combine numbers were off the charts. He listed at 6’4″ tall, and weighed in at 244 pounds. That’s a big quarterback.

Even more impressive were his 40-yard dash time of 4.43 seconds, his vertical leap of 40.5″, and his huge 10.5″ hands. If you’re looking for pure athleticism, Richardson is your man.

Richardson’s passing at Florida was not so impressive. He completed only 53.8 percent of his passes for 2549 yards, 17 TDs, and nine interceptions. He’s the polar opposite of then accurate Jones.

One other factor enters into the equation significantly, that’s Richardson’s “escapability” in the pocket. He can run to get out of trouble and for big yardage and scores. He ran for 654 yards and nine touchdowns in 2022. Again, he’s the polar opposite of the rather lead-footed Jones.

Why the New England Patriots should roll the dice on Richardson

Drafting Richardson works on a whole host of levels. First, he can make up for lots of shortcomings in his offensive line blocking. Any breakdowns are mere inconveniences for Richardson.

Nfldraftbuzz.com has this to say about him,

"Anthony Richardson has the highest upside of any quarterback in this year’s class. His measurables are off the scale, he has elite speed, height, and outstanding arm strength – from a physical comparison, he reminds us of Cam Newton with the speed of Lamar Jackson …Overall we find it impossible to consider drafting Ricardson (sic, writer’s note) in the first round as anything other than a massive throw of the dice, while he could become the next Cam Newton he’s equally likely to never develop into a player who is able to consistently lead a traditional NFL offense and be limited to an RPO role."

This space has argued for a dramatic upgrade to the team’s offensive tackle position. Nothing’s changed there. But as suggested, signing top free agent offensive left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. improves that situation immeasurably.

With Brown (and Richardson) on board, you can wait to draft another tackle. This allows them to add offensive weapons for Richardson along with key defensive pieces, as well.

Drafting Richardson also allows the team to trade Jones for additional draft capital to replace losses in trading up, and to improve all over the field, e.g. at receiver, defensive line, CB, etc.

Is this strategy risky? Indeed. It would take gutsy, outside-the-box thinking. Yet, it would add a jolt of electricity to the New England Patriots’ languid offense.

It’s not likely to happen. Not sure it should. Maybe the team will trade for the great Lamar Jackson. Conversely, they can roll with Jones and hope for the 2021 version.

Yet, if the New England Patriots “roll the dice” and draft Richardson, the NFL will be on notice. Won’t that be interesting?

Do you think the Patriots should draft Anthony Richardson? We’d like to hear.