The Indianapolis Colts drafted Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick, feeling the Florida quarterback had too much potential for them to pass up. Colts general manager Chris Ballad said he believes Richardson has star power and wants that star power to be with Indianapolis.
The draft process can be seen on the Colts Draft Series With the next check.
“I didn’t want to look up and watch him become a star somewhere else,” Ballard said. (via NFL.com). “If he’s going to be a star, he’ll be a star for the Colts.”
During the draft, when Ballard selected Richardson’s name from the Colts’ draft board, he said, “Sometimes you just have to take a shot at it.”
The Generators wanted to keep their interest in Richardson under the radar, but during the pre-draft process they were highly rated on Richardson and hoped he would be available at the fourth overall.
Those in the draft room were holding their breath as the Arizona Cardinals took their time during their #3 overall pick, finally trading it to the Houston Texans. When the trade happened, the new Colts were safe, because the Texans had already taken quarterback CJ Stroud with the No. 2 overall pick.
When the trade was announced, the Colts’ draft room erupted into cheers and applause, as “that boy” and “good” came from the front office.
I’ll give it to Chris [Ballard]”He’s got a solid stomach to sit there and wait, and he hasn’t flinched,” said the director of Morocco’s Boy Scouts College, Colts.
Brown says Richardson is a “purple unicorn”.
Offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter said Richardson is “extremely talented” and “the natural”.
“I think in the right environment, which I think we’re building here, he has the best possible chance of turning into that up-and-coming guy…he can be really exciting,” Cooter said before the race.
The Colts are under new leadership this year with the appointment of Shane Steichen as their head coach. Indianapolis fired Frank Reich and hired former player Jeff Saturday as the team’s interim coach. Steichen is excited to start this new chapter in the Colts franchise with Richardson on their roster.
“There are certain things he brings to the table that we’re very excited about,” Indianapolis coach Shane Steichen said.
When Richardson was drafted, the Colts had quarterbacks Nick Foles, Gardner Minshaw and Sam Ellinger on their roster at the time, and they would release Foles on Friday.