The talk of the 2023 NFL combine is about Anthony Richardson, and what he did athletically. You are talking about someone with the size of Ben Roethlisberger running like Robert Griffin. This is really rare stuff we are looking at. There are going to be questions about whether the Baltimore Ravens should be interested or not.
Should the Baltimore Ravens trade up for Anthony Richardson?
There is a drawback and the reason why Richardson did not come into the NFL draft as the far and away number one overall pick. That is because he still has questions about his accuracy. By all accounts, he is fine as a decision-maker, but he struggles mechanically to get it where it should go.
One name we saw improve in this area was Josh Allen, and teams will be looking to Anthony Richardson as the next potential prospect to fill that. There is reason to think that the Baltimore Ravens are a good fit.
The main one is that they have Lamar Jackson. Jackson helps the Baltimore Ravens in two ways. First, he can get them to shoot up draft boards. While the acquiring team would have to pay Jackson, it is easy to see a team saying that they would take Jackson and the price over the question mark that is Richardson.
The price to get Jackson may go down because of the other option being Richardson, but the Ravens are still best suited for one or the other. If they use Jackson to get Richardson, they do not have to change the offense too much.
It is almost like they get a redo and get to do over all of the things they wish they changed with Lamar Jackson. They are saving a ton of money against the cap, so they could focus on getting Richardson the right help that they struggled to provide with Jackson.
They could run a similar offense, or at the least, some of the line schemes and blocking situations will not change much, and the personnel does not have to overhaul. Other teams are thinking they will need to steal ideas from the Ravens if they draft Richardson, the Ravens are the Ravens.
If one team is going to have buzz increase around Anthony Richardson, it very well may be the Baltimore Ravens, who could pivot from Lamar Jackson quickly.