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Anthony Richardson appeared to be on his way to having a spectacular rookie season before his campaign was cut short by an injury. The Indianapolis Colts took a gamble on the electrifying quarterback by trading up in the NFL Draft last year to get him.
He was a polarizing prospect, due to his lack of experience but elite athleticism, but his future now appears to be bright.
Now that they seemingly have their future quarterback, the Colts may now turn their focus to surrounding him with the best possible situation to succeed. One way to do so is by improving his wide receivers, as the position lacks depth on their roster.
According to Peter Schrager in his most recent mock draft, they may be aggressive in doing so during the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft.
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He predicted that they will attempt to trade up to the ninth-overall pick from their current 15th spot to target a difference-making wide receiver. In this mock draft, he has them selecting Malik Nabers of the LSU Tigers.
Schrager explained:
"Indianapolis sends Chicago a future second-round pick in order to move up six slots and pounce on Nabers, the star receiver out of LSU. In an AFC South that saw the Jaguars, Texans, and Titans all aggressively attack free agency, Colts GM Chris Ballard shows he has some tricks up his sleeve, too."
The Colts recently locked in Michael Pittman Jr. to a three-year contract extension worth $70 million.
He has lacked a true numer-two option to line up across for him, but adding Malik Nabers could potentially turn that weakness into a major strength. He is one of the most explosive prospects in the entire 2024 NFL Draft class.
Extending Pittman and potentially targeting a wide receiver in the draft would show that the Colts are truly all-in on Anthony Richardson. Given their outcome from a year ago, it makes sense for them to be optimistic about their future.
Anthony Richardson can take Colts to the next level
The Indianapolis Colts just needed to defeat the Houston Texans in the final game of the 2023 NFL season to punch their ticket into the playoffs.
While they failed to do so, they had several factors working against them. Most notably, they were forced to start backup quarterback Gardner Minshew II, who replaced Anthony Richardson following his season-ending injury.
If Richardson can manage to stay healthy, the Colts can legitimately take a step forward this year. It's important to remember that they also played a chunk of last season without Jonathan Taylor, so his presence can also have an impact.
