Getty The Buccaneers are preparing for life after Tom Brady.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers could land an interesting quarterback as Tom Brady’s potential replacement.
According to Cam Mellor of Pro Football Network’s 2023 NFL mock draft, the Buccaneers will land University of Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson with the No. 31 overall pick. Mellor explains why the Bucs will select their second Gators quarterback with a high draft pick in the past three seasons. Tampa Bay previously selected Gators QB Kyle Trask with a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL draft.
“Another Gator in this first round and another Gator quarterback to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” says Mellor. “This time, however, Anthony Richardon’s skill set is a dramatic improvement over Kyle Trask’s. Richardson has an elite arm. He’ll drop perfectly placed throws 50 yards downfield with the flick of a wrist.”
In this scenario, it’s likely Brady calls it a career — he has yet to commit past this season — which leaves the Bucs without a starting quarterback for the 2023 season. Mellor goes on to further gush about Richardson’s skill set as an athletic quarterback.
“Richardson can improve his pocket presence as the full-time starter finally, and that should come in time. What separates Richardson from any generic big-armed quarterback is the fact that he has a unicorn-like skill set,” says Mellor. “He’s 6’4” and 236 pounds but reportedly hit as low as 4.4 in the 40-yard dash. Those kinds of numbers would be unrivaled as one of the best athletic performances from a quarterback in history.”
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Why Richardson Is an Appealing Draft Prospect
There’s little doubt that Richardson’s measurables are off the charts. His size matches the likes of dual-threat quarterbacks such as the Buffalo Bills‘ Josh Allen. His reported 4.4 40-yard-dash would rank as the second-fastest in NFL Combine history behind only Michael Vick.
However, he is the definition of an unproven quarterback. During his first two seasons spent at Florida, Richardson sat behind Trask in 2020 and Emory Jones during the 2021 season. He has just eight appearances and one start to his name.
In two seasons spent as a backup, Richardson’s passing numbers are modest — 556 passing yards, seven touchdowns and six interceptions. However, his rushing numbers demonstrate what kind of running ability he possesses.
The 20-year-old ran for 401 yards on just 51 carries for an astounding yards per carry average of 7.9 yards. While he obviously didn’t have enough carries to qualify for the category, Richardson’s yards per carry average would have led the nation last season.
McShay Projects Richardson as No. 6 Pick
But his lack of playing experience hasn’t deterred NFL draft experts from projecting him as one of the top quarterbacks to be selected in next year’s draft. In fact, ESPN’s Todd McShay projects Richardson to be drafted even higher at No. 6 by the Carolina Panthers next year. That would make Richardson the third-highest QB selected, behind just C.J. Stroud and Bryce Young.
“Richardson is a huge projection — the 6-foot-4, 236-pound passer played in just eight games and started once last year — and has some turnover issues,” says McShay. “But he’s extremely talented and poised for a breakout season in his first as a full-time starter.”
Due to his lack of playing experience, Richardson is a little bit of a mystery at this point. But his skill set clearly leaves a very high ceiling.
If Tampa Bay does end up selecting Richardson, they would shift their offense from a pure pocket passer in Brady to a dual-threat one that could very well resemble the likes of Lamar Jackson.