Even though the Las Vegas Raiders signed quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this offseason to be their signal caller, he does not represent the franchise’s long-term answer at the position. Furthermore, the 2023 NFL Draft has a number of intriguing young players at the position, with arguably none having more potential than Florida’s Anthony Richardson.
From a physical standpoint, Richardson is a marvel at the quarterback position with all of the tools, and he turned a lot of heads with his performance at the scouting combine. Armed with the seventh overall pick, the Raiders could take a good look at Richardson if he is still on the board.
And the Raiders are undoubtedly doing all of their homework on the former Gator as the team hosted Richardson in their facilities recently, with ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler saying the meeting went very well by all accounts, via Doric Sam of Bleacher Report:
“I was told he was in their building in Vegas yesterday. They went and probably had a sensible meal, had a nice dinner with Raiders’ brass,” Fowler said on SportsCenter. “They also put him on the big board to work out plays and test his mental approach to the game. I’m told the meeting by all accounts went very well.”
However, the question remains whether the Raiders are willing to go quarterback with their top pick. The team is still considering all options and is looking hard at all of the quarterbacks, but with so many other needs on the roster, they would have to be sure it’s the right move:
“The Raiders are looking hard at all the quarterbacks, but they have a lot of needs as I was told, so they’re not going to stretch the issue too much and just sell out for a quarterback just yet,” Fowler said. “We’ll see, it’d have to be the right opportunity.”
Richardson is not the most polished of the quarterback prospects, but he is a physical specimen with dual-threat capabilities that could be unstoppable if he fine-tunes certain things. Unfortunately, he only had one full season as a starter at Florida and completed just 53.8% of his passes for 2,549 yards and 17 touchdowns to 9 interceptions. But he also added another 654 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
You can not win in this league without having the right person under center, and if the Raiders feel they have the chance to take that person in the draft, they have to make that move. But a misfire on the pick could set the franchise back years.
