There weren’t too many surprises in the top four picks of the 2023 NFL Draft. The only shocking move was all the draft capital the Houston Texans gave up to jump from 12 to 3 to take Will Anderson Jr. But the quarterback went as expected based on their potential.
The Carolina Panthers took Bryce Young with the first overall pick. Then the Texans drafted C.J. Stroud despite the reports of his low results in a cognition test. That meant the Indianapolis Colts had the consensus third best signal-caller at the fourth spot.
Indianapolis didn’t overthink and took Anthony Richardson. The former Florida Gator has a high ceiling as well as a low floor because he doesn’t have a ton of experience. He seemed to be their clear future, although Colts’ owner Jim Irsay posted a confusing message regarding Will Levis as a possibility for rounds 2 or 3.
Jim Irsay’s cryptic tweet about Will Levis
The Colts have been switching starting quarterbacks every season for a couple of years now since Andrew Luck retired. Their approach of taking aging veterans clearly didn’t work. Philip Rivers, Jacoby Brissett, and Carson Wentz had very inconsistent results. In 2022 they traded for Matt Ryan, but that went terribly wrong.
Richardson appears as a project that needs time to develop. Patience along with confidence will be key for him reaching the projection that scouts have, although the owner didn’t help in that regard. Irsay posted a strange tweet about the opportunity to draft Levis as well to have a situation like Joe Montana and Steve Young had with the San Francisco 49ers.
“Colts Fans…would you take Will Levis at #2 if you’re on the board for Colts in 4 hours from now??? … and go Montana – Young for Franchise??”, Irsay wrote on his official Twitter account. Indianapolis were lucky to have a Hall of Fame quarterback like Peyton Manning playing for them. Comparing these two young players to two other greats didn’t look like the most mature approach for being the owner.