Hall of Fame coach wants Colts' Anthony Richardson to fix one thing

Second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson offered signs of what could be to come for the Indianapolis Colts when he produced highlight-reel plays in the club's season-opening 29-27 home loss to the Houston Texans last Sunday. 

During an appearance on OutKick’s "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" program, Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy shared that he feels Richardson can "be a top-five quarterback" in the NFL if the 22-year-old "can start to hit those ordinary throws" as a pro. 

"He made a couple of throws last week that nobody in the league can make," Dungy said about Richardson, per Ryan Canfield of Fox News Digital. "But then, there are a couple where guys are open, and he’s gotta just put the ball on the money and keep the drive going." 

Accuracy concerns hovered over Richardson long before the Colts made him the fourth overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. He completed just 53.8% of his passes during the 2022 college season, and he recorded just 13 college starts while with the Florida Gators.

Richardson connected on 59.5% of 84 total pass attempts over four starts as a rookie last year before he went down with a season-ending shoulder injury. Against Houston, he went 9-of-19 passing (47.4%) for 212 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. 

"Sometimes it is just timing and anticipation and doing the same thing over and over and over," Dungy said about Richardson improving his accuracy on "ordinary down-in and down-out" plays. "And we have to understand Anthony hasn’t played a lot of football ... Anthony is just scratching the surface. You look at Peyton Manning in year one, year two to year 10 or year 12, great difference in just accuracy and timing and the little details. That’s going to come for Anthony. We just got to get him playing more football, doing it more, getting those reps in."

As of Friday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook listed Richardson third among the betting favorites at +650 odds to win the Comeback Player of the Year Award for this season. Before he can think about remaining in such conversations through December, he'll first need to concentrate on completing over half his passes when the Colts play at the 0-1 Green Bay Packers this Sunday. 

On Friday, DraftKings Sportsbook had Indianapolis as a 2.5-point favorite for the matchup that likely will feature Malik Willis serving as Green Bay's QB1 with Jordan Love sidelined because of an MCL sprain.