Building a play package for Anthony Richardson

If the former 1st round pick is not starting, the Colts should still find ways to get him on the field

With Anthony Richardson dealing with some aggravation in his throwing shoulder, the odds on him starting have dropped and sports betting companies now give him a 35% chance of starting in Week 1. If Richardson were to not be the Week 1 starter, then the Colts need to find ways of getting him into the game with a series of plays or a package. What could that package look like?

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Zone Reads & Option Run Plays

The Colts have one of the best running backfields in the entire NFL with Jonathan Taylor and Anthony Richardson. With the NFL shifting to lighter boxes in favour of more defensive backs, it will force teams to bring a safety into the box or force 2 linebackers to cover Richardson and Taylor, which is difficult even for the best of them.

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RPOs

One of the biggest surprises of last season was the Colts reluctance to call RPO plays or packages for Richardson. The Colts only ran about 2 dozen RPO plays for him and that’s simply not enough. Since his first preseason, Richardson has thrived in RPOs. As you can see above, not only are his mechanics good (good ride footwork on the handoff, flips hips well, aligns well to target, hits first read well). In the clips above, you’ll see he does a good of hitting Pittman on quick hitting routes (slants, quick dig, drag, crossers). Every time RPOs are called, they just look so effortless and easy for him, so it’s only natural that if a play package was developed for him, it would have to include some RPOs.

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All Go Specials & Other Deep Throws

Anthony Richardson has one of the strongest arms in the NFL and already has several highlight worthy throws easily spanning over 50 yards. Using that arm to stretch the defense is a must. Stretching the field will lighten boxes and that will allow the Colts to run the ball down their throat with either Taylor or Richardson. They need the deep passes for this package otherwise teams will stack the box when they see Richardson in the game. The deep play element allows them to keep defenses guessing.

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The Right Package

The right package has 10-15 plays for him. That number is an easy amount to remember. He can learn those 10-15 plays in a week and then variations can develop off them. If Richardson plays in 8-12 snaps a game as a backup, that number is also good for the team to not overlap or reuse the same plays too often.

Think Taysom Hill or young Lamar Jackson. They weren’t gimmicks, they were legit change of pace players who added a new element to games and coaches publicly stated that it added another element to the game that they needed to study heavily. Imagine having to study for two quarterbacks instead of one?

I hear the argument that Richardson needs reps in order to get better and while that’s true, I believe he needs positive reps to get better. The Colts should put him in a position to thrive and creating a Hill/Jackson package with plays he likes and runs well would be a great starting point to turn around his career. A package like this gives him experience and builds his confidence, which is exactly what he needs in his make-or-break year.