Predicting who will be crowned the winner of the Colts’ starting QB battle between Anthony Richardson and Daniel Jones
One of the most important decisions in the Colts recent history
Who will be the Indianapolis Colts’ starting QB when they take the field for the regular season opener at home vs. the Miami Dolphins?
That’s the question that’s been on everyone’s mind since the Colts decided to sign Daniel Jones to compete with Anthony Richardson ahead of his third season in the NFL. The QBs have split starting reps throughout training camp and the preseason, and according to head coach Shane Steichen, he’d “like to have a decision shortly”, which sounds an awful lot like he knows the answer but wants to tell the QBs and the team before the media. Now, many expect the winner of this competition to be announced on either Monday or Tuesday as the team prepares for their final preseason matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Before Steichen announces the official winner, I would like to share my thoughts on what I observed from both QBs in practice and the preseason, and who I believe should and will be named the starting QB.
Offical prediction for the Colts’ starting QB Week 1 vs. the Dolphins
Prediction: Anthony Richardson
To me, I’ve felt from the beginning that while these QBs were in an open competition for the starting job, Jones would need to show that he was, without a doubt, the better QB to overtake Richardson. And I didn’t see that in practice or in the preseason. Both QBs have had their fair share of mental mistakes, but one can make the big plays at a much higher rate. That QB is Anthony Richardson, and I believe he should and will be named the Colts’ Week 1 starter.
Watching Jones in training camp, you could see he is comfortable taking what the defense gives him in the short and intermediate game, an area Richardson has struggled with during his first two seasons. The problem is, you could notice a similar amount of sporadic accuracy at times, where if his throwing process was altered at all, you could tell in his delivery. Consider the Colts’ Week 2 preseason game, for example, Jones’ first drive displayed multiple instances of poor accuracy and showed signs of panicking in the pocket, which resulted in the drive ending quickly. During his second drive, he looked very sharp and led the team down the field, culminating in a field goal.
Richardson still experienced some inconsistent practices in terms of overall accuracy, and his mental lapse in the first preseason game, which sadly led to an injury that ended his night early, was disheartening. Still, his overall process and accuracy on short and intermediate throws have noticeably improved. To me, Richardson not only didn’t allow Jones to outshine him, but looked like the clear better QB for the majority of the offseason. I believe the addition of Jones brought out the fire the team needed to see out of Richardson, and it led to Colts star offensive lineman Quenton Nelson saying, “Anthony’s having his best camp ever.” I think that statement is notable because, although the final decision is in Steichen and the coaching staff’s hands, I believe the roster, especially veteran leaders like Nelson, should have a say in who lines up under center.
The roster has all said the same thing along the lines of “we want the best QB on the field,” and I believe they are being honest in that statement, but in my opinion, the vibe around camp seems to point towards most of the players hoping Richardson would prove to be that guy. I think Richardson did enough to win this competition, but I also believe there is some clear strategy that should be used by the Colts when making this critical decision. It is simply easier to give Richardson the chance to prove he can be the guy starting in week one and have him on a small leash, knowing you have a competent backup in Jones waiting behind him. Another way to say this is that it’s easier to switch to Jones later if Richardson struggles than it is to try to give the job back to Richardson, who would have been benched twice now in his NFL career halfway through the season if Jones struggles. The wait seems to be almost over, though, Colts fans, as all signs point toward Steichen making the public declaration of who the team’s starting QB is sometime before the team’s final preseason game on Saturday, Aug 23.
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