The Ravens have already been at the heart of plenty of QB-driven speculation this offseason with Lamar Jackson‘s future remaining in the air. A draft-day development which would alter the team dramatically could be in the cards.
Baltimore’s interest in Anthony Richardson is seen by a number of other teams as being “very real,” as noted by Jason La Canfora of the Washington Post. The Ravens’ affinity for the Florida product may reach the point that they could trade into the middle part of the first round to secure him, La Canfora adds. Such a move would obviously require a specific set of circumstances and represent a franchise-defining commitment. 
Richardson is arguably the most polarizing prospect in the 2023 class, especially at the quarterback position. He served as the Gators’ starter for only one season, and delivered an inconsistent performance which included accuracy issues (53.8% completion percentage) but also a demonstration of his dynamic rushing ability (654 yards, nine touchdowns). His draft stock was boosted considerably at the Combine when he was among the top performers in athletic testing at any position, let along signal-callers.
The Ravens were one of several teams which hosted Richardson on a pre-draft visit, suggesting they wanted to at least do their due diligence on the 6-4, 236-pounder. If they remain high on him – and are willing to get aggressive by moving up several picks to select him – they would obviously be convinced that the risk of investing in his athletic traits would be worth the reward. A number of factors point to a trade-up being unlikely, however.
With several QB-needy teams set to pick in the top 10 on Thursday, a run on passers is expected. Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud and Will Levis could easily be off the board within the first four picks, meaning Richardson may not have to wait long to hear his name called. A few teams (including the Raiders and Titans, set to pick seventh and 11th, respectively) have been named as candidates to move up the board for a QB, something which would take the Ravens out of the picture.
Baltimore is also dealing with an uncharacteristically low amount of draft capital this year. They have only five total selections in 2023, and are without a second-rounder due to the Roquan Smith trade. Trading up (rather than down) in the first round would thus come as a surprise for any target, though the addition of a potential franchise signal-caller certainly alters traditional practices with draft picks.
Were the Ravens to draft Richardson, Jackson’s standing with the organization would be called even further into question. The former MVP had the non-exclusive franchise tag applied last month, opening up the possibility of an offer sheet. No market has developed for him, though, and he went public with his trade request in an attempt to move contract negotiations with the Ravens along or accelerate the process of another team acquiring him. Richardson is seen as a developmental project – much like Jackson was upon his arrival in the league – so the team’s plans at the QB spot would become even more of a storyline than they already are if the former was to find himself heading to Baltimore.
rehash: some of these guys could sign after draft
1. Lamar
2. OBJ – obvious impact
3. Rock Ya-sin – interestingly available still
3. Isiah Wynn – could Wynn a starting job
4. Yannick Ngoukue – situational pass rusher
5. Jadaveon Clowney – king of the Clowns
6. Carson Wentz – not as bad as his reputation
7. Marcus Peters – CB turns 30 and poof
8. Deion Jones – injured still I guess
9. Myles Jack – CPU player on Pro difficulty
10. Zeke, Fournette, Hunt – 27 is 37 in RB years
Pretty sure #2 on your list already signed with Baltimore….
ya I missed OBJ then phone died when I clicked edit.
such is life.
He is signed, but it looks like he’s being charged with assault, so he could be facing a suspension.
As you know, a couple of these guys would fit into the Steelers defense quite nicely
Their free agency period was great but it didn’t address all their needs, which leads one to believe there must be some master plan for this draft
It’ll be interesting
I mean 5 picks in the top 120 is pretty good
Man you really thought you had something with this post.
on this website? lol
ya sure buddy. I’m here to talk football, not sleaze for clout
Can’t see it. FO is on record saying they’d like more draft picks.
Draft day trade: roll the dice with Likely and Kohler (sp?). Move Andrews to a team looking to upgrade at TE. The Lions would be ideal because they have draft capital. Andrews for a 2 and 5 plus the Lions one or 2 depth chart TE. Andrews salary fits under the Lion’s cap while the Ravens salary cap expands.
Other teams looking are GB, LAC and NO maybe others.
GB would make that trade in a heartbeat for one of the best TEs in the league. (One guy has Mahomes at QB, Andrews has a RB throwing to him)
hard to imagine a Lamar run offense with Andrews..
Didn’t watch any Florida games, but the guy sounds like early- Lamar Jackson lol. Mediocre accuracy, with speed.
He has the same scouting report everywhere I’ve read. ‘Bad footwork and accuracy issues’. That doesn’t sound like 1st round material to me. The QB position in the NFL isn’t meant for the QB to be a running back.
If you look at the current and recently retired HoF QB’s none were known to be runners. In no particular order, Brees, both Mannings, Ben, AR 12, Rivers (debatable on HoF but darn good QB), Brady….
Richardson would have really benefitted from another year in college, even if it was a non pro-friendly scheme at Florida. His timing on routes and experience handling pressure/making reads would have been improved, especially against SEC competition (he’s guaranteed to play against Georgia at least once more at a college level, a school sure to feature multiple NFL players, in addition to SEC West NFL factories like Alabama and LSU).
I don’t like Richardson’s utter lack of polish, but his physical traits are unmatched at an enormous size. He needs to play to get the rest developed, and that means at least a couple of years with messy on field results. Richardson is not surprising to me to be of interest to Baltimore, since he fits their current profile, but I’d wager also that this is a ploy in part to get Lamar’s attention. Even if they follow through, the Ravens just let Roman go at O.C. If they wanted to do the whole “running quarterback proofed” offense, they’d have kept him around for Richardson, since that’s the type of offense he needs to allow him to gain needed experience AND be effective record-wise…even though that style also limits how far his passing development can go.
Never beat a good team. That sort of fits in with the recent Ravens.
I watched this guy last year because my son is a huge Gator fan. I actually laughed when he declared for the draft. He doesn’t think, he doesn’t react well and from what I’ve seen he doesn’t take coaching well. Any team that drafts this dude before the third round and isn’t prepared to sit him for a few years is dreaming. There are at least 4 and maybe even 6 QBs in this draft who are more capable. But since Baltimore is in the same division as my favorite team I think they should draft him in the first round and sign him to a 20 year extension at 50 million a year.
I agree with everything you said, except that I think Richardson’s main issue is lack of experience. Those other errors he has derive a lot from that. Of course, starting him will mean bad offense for some time by default, and there’s no guarantee that he’ll ever truly become a good passer. The types of scheme that build on his skillset by necessity limit his passing options, so he doesn’t have the best chance to learn how to do that (as what occurred with Lamar Jackson). Richardson needs game time to learn, but there’s no guarantee that he will, the scheme he plays in will be limited passing-wise to correct his lack of passing ability currently which will limit his growth, and at minimum his early returns will be messy.
Lack of accuracy yet incredibly gifted athletically. Sounds like Lamar Jackson with about 1/10 the $ investment over the next 5 years.