Colts Need Anthony Richardson to Step Up for Tyler Warren

The Indianapolis Colts have one of the most interesting positional situations in the NFL, and it's with the most important spot on any roster: quarterback. Anthony Richardson is entering his third year and must provide an answer against the new addition, Daniel Jones, in their competition to be the starter.

However, the Colts drafted former Penn State standout tight end Tyler Warren, helping to amplify the offense by providing the quarterback (whoever starts) with a sure-fire target in the short game, as well as the middle of the field.

How much of an impact can Warren have with such an uncertain situation at signal-caller? Garrett Podell of CBS Sports provides intel in his piece highlighting the top 10 QB/WR-TE tandems involving rookies like Warren.

"The rookie in this equation, tight end Tyler Warren, could easily be ranked a lot higher on this list, but the quarterback uncertainty is why the Colts duo isn't higher."

The ambiguity of the field general is holding back the assumed potential of what this Shane Steichen-led offense can do. Neither Richardson or Jones have panned out as legitimate starters during their respective NFL careers, providing confusion on how this offense will operate.

If Richardson (or Jones) can hit a career stride, then Warren might have himself a fantastic rookie year with a significant impact on the gridiron. The hope is this can happen given his Swiss Army Knife-type of skill set.

Podell continued.

"Problem is his (Warren) likely starting quarterback Anthony Richardson is a total boom or bust: He was dead last in the entire NFL in completion percentage (47.7%) but first in the league in yards per completion (14.4) last season."

Without boring the reader with Richardson's statistics, it's simple: he was so bad as a passer that he appeared to not be a viable starter. Richardson's skills give him potential to destroy defenses, but his short to intermediate passing accuracy was in the tank in 2024.

It won't matter what Warren can do as an offensive weapon if Richardson wins the starting gig and continues to struggle with the simpler throws. This is because Warren's bread and butter is working the shorter game for safety blanket-type tosses.

Look for Richardson to translate his offseason work to the field for 2025. While the notion is that Jones has a chance to take the starter gig from under Richardson, Jones hasn't been a good quarterback and has a terrible win-loss record for his career.

Warren was drafted to change the offense for the better, but accuracy from the quarterback spot will be the biggest key for him to hit the ground running in his debut campaign. Luckily, the Colts have a set of receiving and running back assets to help open up opportunities for Warren, and vice versa.

Richardson must rise to the occasion or the fogginess of his future will get thicker, giving Jones a legit chance to lead the offense. Richardson is currently in limbo as a 'boom or bust' quarterback, which he likely isn't a fan of.

We'll see if Richardson can become what Indy drafted him to be: a franchise quarterback who brings success to the Circle City.

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