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Fantasy Football Player Notes

Week 1 Rankings

Anthony Richardson Note
Anthony Richardson photo 16. Anthony Richardson (vs . JAC)
The fourth overall pick in this year's NFL Draft, Richardson is being handed the keys to the Colts' offense without a watch-and-learn period. The rookie has a big-time arm, but Richardson was only a starter for one season at the University of Florida, so it might take time for him to become even an adequate NFL passer. Richardson's rushing is another story, however. That figures to be where Richardson derives much of his fantasy value early in his pro career. The 6-4, 244-pound Richardson has 4.43 speed and ran for nine TDs in his final college season with the Gators. Shane Steichen, the Colts' new head coach, was the Eagles offensive coordinator for the past two years and helped develop QB Jalen Hurts. In Hurts' first season as a starter in 2021, Steichen went extremely run-heavy. From Week 6 on, that Eagles team ran the ball on 56% of its offensive snaps. Hurts averaged a modest 209.6 passing yards per game that year and threw 16 TD passes in 15 starts, but he also averaged 52.3 rushing yards per game and ran for 10 touchdowns. I think we could see something similar with Richardson this year. There's a wide range of possible outcomes for Richardson in Week 1, and his Week 1 output will probably depend heavily on his rushing totals. Play it conservatively and regard Richardson as a midrange QB2 for Week 1.
27 weeks ago