Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy thinks Anthony Richardson can be top-five QB if he fixes one thing

Indianapolis Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson made one of the most impressive throws in the NFL during Week 1. 

After slipping on his back foot, the Colts quarterback regained his balance and launched a 60-yard pass right into the hands of Alec Pierce for a touchdown.

Despite that sensational play, Richardson could not lead the Colts to victory as they lost to the Houston Texans 29-27 to begin their season. 

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Pro Football Hall of Fame coach Tony Dungy joined OutKick’s “Don’t @ With Dan Dakich” to discuss the Colts’ second-year quarterback’s play.

“I think he has a chance to be really, really good if he can perfect one thing. If he can start to hit those ordinary throws. He made a couple of throws last week that nobody in the league can make, 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,” Dungy said.

“(Richardson) is making the spectacular play, but I always go back to something my old coach Chuck Noll told us when I got to the Steelers. We had won two Super Bowls when I got there, and he said, ‘Champions don’t do the extraordinary things, champions do ordinary things better than everyone else.’

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“Right now, to me, Anthony is making the extraordinary plays, and where he has got to get better is those ordinary down-in and down-out decisions and accurate throws. If he gets that part down, he’s going to be a top-five quarterback.”

In the loss to the Texans, Richardson completed 9 of his 19 pass attempts for 212 yards while throwing for two touchdowns and one interception.

The former Florida Gators standout also added 56 yards and a touchdown on six rushing attempts. 

Richardson played four games last season before undergoing season-ending surgery on his injured right shoulder. 

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In those four games last season, Richardson completed 59.5% of his passes, while establishing himself as a dual-threat quarterback, running for a touchdown in each of those games. 

The issues surrounding Richardson’s accuracy go back to his college days at Florida. His completion percentage over 24 college games was 54.7%.

Despite not playing as many games compared to his peers, the Colts, like Dungy, saw the potential for Richardson to be a top-five quarterback in the league when they drafted him with the fourth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft

Dungy attributes some of the accuracy issues to a lack of games played.

“Sometimes it is just timing and anticipation and doing the same thing over and over and over. And we have to understand Anthony hasn’t played a lot of football. You look at Bo Nix, who’s the rookie quarterback for Denver. Bo Nix played 60 college games,” Dungy said. 

“Anthony is just scratching the surface, and you look at Peyton Manning in year one, year two, to year ten or year twelve, great difference in just accuracy and timing and the little details, and that’s going to come for Anthony. We just got to get him playing more football, doing it more, getting those reps in.”

Richardson will look to lead the Colts to their first victory this season when they face the Jordan Love-less Green Bay Packers on Sunday.

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