• Now is the time to trade for Anthony Richardson Sr. in dynasty leagues: As Daniel Jones sits ahead of the once highly touted quarterback on the depth chart, look to target Richardson at a cheaper price.

• Richardson isn’t done yet: The former No. 4 overall pick has endured high highs and low lows in just two NFL seasons, and now he’s on the bench. But his skill set remains valuable in fantasy football, and he’s bound to get a shot to start again at some point.

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The result of the Indianapolis Colts‘ starting quarterback battle is, in and of itself, unexciting. But it is instructive of at least two things.

First, general manager Chris Ballard and head coach Shane Steichen are feeling the heat. Second, having Daniel Jones under center to start the 2025 season indicates that Anthony Richardson Sr., a top-five pick in 2023, is almost certainly done as the team’s long-term answer at quarterback.

You should still trade for him in dynasty leagues.

Coaching decisions like picking steady-but-limited Daniel Jones over former-top-five-pick-with-all-the-physical-tools-but-can’t-put-it-together Anthony Richardson Sr. send panic and despair rippling through the fantasy football community.

In 2023 rookie drafts, Richardson was a top-10 pick by ADP. Now, he lives on the bench of many a fantasy roster as managers ponder what his future holds. It is precisely these circumstances that opportunistic fantasy managers should be eyeing.

If you can acquire Richardson for a 2026 or 2027 second-round pick, then you should absolutely pull the trigger — especially in superflex leagues. The third-year signal-caller is ranked as the QB26 in PFF’s superflex dynasty fantasy football rankings, and the 85th player overall. Right now, he is, understandably, not being thought of as a viable QB2.

That Richardson lost his job to Jones doesn’t indicate he is done as an NFL signal-caller, and he may even see starting snaps this season as the Colts work through their quarterback situation. And those feelings are reflected in each player’s ADP. Even though Jones has been named the starter, he is still PFF’s 30th-ranked quarterback and 104th overall player in superflex dynasty formats.

This wouldn’t be the first time a new situation kick-started a letdown quarterback’s unprecedented rise to becoming a top-10 fantasy producer at the position. In 2022, Baker Mayfield logged a poor 50.6 PFF overall grade with the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams, and he entered the 2023 season in a quarterback battle with Kyle Trask. In dynasty terms, his stock had never been lower. 

Before Geno Smith tossed 30 touchdowns in a breakout 2022 season with the Seattle Seahawks, he had 34 career touchdowns in eight NFL seasons.

Last season, both Mayfield and Smith were top-15 fantasy quarterbacks (Mayfield was the QB3, behind only Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson). Not long ago, Smith and Mayfield populated a lot of waiver wires, resigned to a role of spot-starter, gunslinger-for-hire duties in times of desperate measures.

Those gambles at the right price are a huge part of a dynasty manager’s toolkit, and Richardson fits the profile perfectly.

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Richardson still has fewer than 1,000 regular-season dropbacks since 2020 across college and the NFL (850). For context, Joe Burrow handled 725 dropbacks alone in the 2024 season. In the here and now, that’s not a good thing. But it also means that there is plenty of room for growth in Richardson’s game, some of which he has displayed in limited NFL action.

The second reason why Richardson can improve in a new setting is his pairing with a head coach and offensive coordinator who insist that he dials down his throws. In 2024, Richardson’s average target traveled 12.3 yards. That’s an unsustainable number — more than two yards higher than second place among quarterbacks with at least 250 dropbacks. Even Jameis Winston had a 9.7-yard average target depth in 2024, and he is the master of flinging throws downfield with reckless abandon.

The result of throwing well beyond the sticks so often is that Richardson logged the second-highest big-time throw rate (6.8%) among quarterbacks with a minimum of 250 dropbacks last season. He trailed only reigning MVP Josh Allen.

That’s the positive. The other side of the coin is Richardson’s 4.7% turnover-worthy play rate, which was the third-highest clip in the NFL among signal-callers with at least 250 dropbacks. Only Winston and Spencer Rattler posted a higher rate.

But the thrilling rollercoaster has a few more dizzying highs and stomach-dropping troughs: the rushing potential. Being such a physically gifted, though fragile, runner raises Richardson’s floor while offering a quite enormous ceiling if he can even become an average passer. 

In 2024, Richardson finished tied for third in rushing touchdowns among non-running backs, with six. Only Allen and Jalen Hurts had more, and Richardson notched just as many as reigning Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels. However, while Daniels got his six rushing scores on 148 rush attempts, Richardson did it on 86. Of the eight quarterbacks with at least 75 rushing attempts, Richardson tied for third (with Caleb Williams) with 21 runs of over 10 yards and tied for second (with Daniels) in designed runs of over 15 yards, with four.

If Richardson somehow manages to figure out his deficiencies, you have a genuine league-winning quarterback on your hands that you will have given up relatively little to acquire.

But don’t trade for Richardson with the expectation that he will fulfill the production required to ever be considered worthy of the fourth overall pick. Instead, trade for him with the expectation that he could develop into a fantasy QB2, largely propped up by his running ability, with weekly QB1 upside.