Chris Raybon said Anthony Richardson is the easiest upside swing after Round 15. Richardson has started only 15 career games yet already owns nine top-4 weekly finishes; his 25% top-4 rate trails just six quarterbacks over the same span. Raybon noted the Colts left him on the field for 100 % of snaps in nine of 11 starts (98 % in a tenth), so durability concerns are overstated unless the current shoulder issue lingers into the regular season. He dismissed Daniel Jones’ arrival as a cosmetic move, calling Jones “no real threat” to Richardson’s QB1 status. With Michael Pittman, Josh Downs, Alec Pierce, rookie Adonai Mitchell, TE Tyler Warren and Jonathan Taylor surrounding him behind an above-average offensive line, Raybon expects Richardson’s dual-threat profile to produce weekly QB1 spikes even if the real-life passing looks ugly. In best-ball drafts he views Richardson as a free ceiling play whose rushing and red-zone usage can win tournaments whenever he’s healthy enough to start.

Cody Woodman advised pumping the brakes on Anthony Richardson after word surfaced that the quarterback aggravated the same throwing-shoulder issue that cost him 13 games as a rookie. Woodman emphasized how a second labrum setback this early in camp raises the odds of surgical intervention or managed workloads that cap passing volume. In 2023 Richardson averaged just 23.0 attempts per start, relying on 10.2 designed rushes to reach fantasy viability—exactly the area most threatened by a sore shoulder. Woodman believes the news is actually a mild boost for Jonathan Taylor and the pass-catchers: Gardner Minshew averaged 34.3 attempts and a 68% completion rate in relief last year, numbers that produced top-24 weekly finishes for Michael Pittman Jr. six times. Still, with Richardson’s ADP hovering in the QB7-QB8 range, the tout prefers safer dual-threat options like Kyler Murray or cheaper pocket passers in Rounds 9-12.

Andrew Erickson signed off on taking Anthony Richardson as a 15th- or 16th-round flier in Best Ball Mania drafts, calling the Colts quarterback “the kind of third QB who can single-handedly win you a week.” Erickson acknowledged the market’s fear that Daniel Jones could open the season as the Indy starter, but stressed that any Richardson start brings immediate top-10 weekly upside thanks to elite rushing efficiency (0.84 fantasy points per carry and 4.7 designed runs per game in his abbreviated rookie year). Richardson’s ADP is sliding because drafters worry the Colts may shelf him late if their season goes south, yet Erickson noted that spike-weeks matter most in a best-ball portfolio and you now capture them at a steep discount. Bottom line: if Richardson plays, he is almost certainly in your best-ball lineup that week, making him a smash value when he drifts into the mid-teens.

Davis Mattek said he just knocked Anthony Richardson down roughly 16 spots in his rankings because, in his words, "the temperature feels bad." Mattek pointed to GM Chris Ballard’s comment that both Richardson and Daniel Jones "are going to help us at some point" as a not-so-subtle hint the organization is already hedging on its 2023 first-rounder. Mattek worries the Colts could open the season with a platoon or even bench Richardson entirely if early struggles persist. That said, he still loves stashing Richardson as a third quarterback on Best Ball Mania teams built around safer tandems like Baker Mayfield and Geno Smith. If Indy decides to abandon long-term preservation and lets Richardson run 12-plus times a game, Mattek believes the sophomore could post overall QB3 fantasy numbers in any starts he does make. The bet is basically 5–10 starts of nuclear rushing upside in exchange for a very real chance Richardson never sees the field.

Pat Fantasy Dog Pound said he refuses to fade Anthony Richardson when the quarterback drifts into the 170s of Underdog’s Puppy drafts. Even if the shoulder rehabs drag into September, Pat views Richardson as the perfect third-QB lottery ticket because his rushing blueprint makes any active week a top-3 overall finish. He reminded listeners that Indianapolis called virtually zero designed runs during Richardson’s first two starts last year out of injury caution; the staff has already hinted that restriction will be lifted if he is cleared in 2024. In a single-week playoff format, that kind of 30-point spike week is exactly what Pat is paying for, so he is actively adding shares any time drafters let the sophomore slide past pick 160.

Sigmund Bloom advocated spending a final-round pick on Anthony Richardson as a third quarterback only if that passer can deliver 30-point weeks. Richardson meets the criteria: he averaged 0.74 fantasy points per snap as a rookie and owns unmatched two-TD rushing upside. Stacking him with Michael Pittman and rookie tight end Tyler Warren captures every Colts touchdown, and the playoff schedule—Seahawks in Week 15, 49ers in Week 16, Jaguars in Week 17—creates multiple shootout paths. Bloom noted that Richardson’s deep ball to Alec Pierce is his superpower, meaning even limited passing volume can yield spike weeks, while his rushing floor insulates against duds. In Underdog’s advancing structure, Richardson’s ceiling justifies the roster spot far more than safer but lower-upside late QBs like Kenny Pickett or Jordan Love.

Davis Mattek encouraged drafters to pounce on Anthony Richardson’s depressed ADP, shrugging off rumors that Daniel Jones could open the year as a bridge starter. Mattek compared the situation to Justin Fields’ 2022 stretch run, pointing out that Richardson averaged 0.92 fantasy points per rush attempt in his brief rookie sample—best among all QBs with 20+ carries. The Colts’ playoff schedule (Weeks 15–17 vs Raiders, Titans, Jaguars) features three secondaries that ranked bottom-10 in EPA per drop-back, a script Mattek said "sets up perfectly for a quarterback who can rip 100 yards on the ground any given Sunday." Even if Richardson starts only 10–12 games, Mattek views his weekly 35-point ceiling as irreplaceable in Best Ball playoffs and is willing to reach a round to secure him.

Danny Kanell called the Colts’ QB room his least favorite in the league and sounded alarms on Anthony Richardson’s dynasty stock. Through two NFL seasons Richardson is still hovering around a 50 percent completion rate with an 11-TD, 13-INT line— the same accuracy concerns Kanell had at Florida. Add multiple injuries and Kanell doubts Richardson survives 2024 as the unquestioned starter, predicting Daniel Jones and even rookie Riley Leonard will get snaps. He expects Indianapolis to be drafting inside the top-10 again in 2025 in search of yet another franchise quarterback. Fantasy takeaway: sell Richardson in dynasty before the wheels come off and avoid him as a redraft starter until he proves he can stay healthy and accurate.

Hayden Winks defended taking Anthony Richardson even on a roster that already featured Josh Allen, arguing the Colts quarterback owns "the highest ceiling of anyone available" in Best Ball Mania drafts. Richardson’s 0.91 fantasy points per drop-back and 50 rushing yards per game before last year’s injury give him a true 40-point weekly ceiling—value that justifies a rare three-QB build when he slips past ADP. Winks liked pairing Richardson with late Colts receivers (Josh Downs, Cedric Tillman) to unlock a cheap Week-17 stack, noting that any sophomore leap in Shane Steichen’s RPO-heavy scheme would instantly make Allen/Richardson the most explosive QB combo in the tournament. In his view, foregoing a fringe RB6 to capture that upside is a trade-off worth making.

Jakob Sanderson said managers need to hit the eject button on Anthony Richardson while he still carries name-brand value. Sanderson attended last year’s Broncos game and watched Richardson miss 12 of 15 eight-yard slot-outs in pre-game warm-ups—sailing some by 20 feet and one-hopping others—which convinced him the accuracy issues are terminal, not fixable. Any rushing floor that once insulated the profile is now threatened by job insecurity: the Colts brought in Daniel Jones and have declared an open competition, something Sanderson called “ultra-bearish” after Michael Pittman Jr. revealed he worked with Jones all off-season but never heard from Richardson. Add in reports that coaches dislike Richardson’s off-field habits, and Sanderson thinks the fourth-overall pick is staring at a Sam Howell/Malik Willis trajectory. He warned that another lost season could erase Richardson’s top-60 startup price entirely and advised flipping him for mid-first rookie capital or younger receivers like Luther Burden before camp opens.