Colts owner would have made Anthony Richardson No. 1 overall pick

The Indianapolis Colts are hopeful they finally found their next long-term answer at quarterback. Franchise owner Jim Irsay certainly seems ecstatic with that possibility.

The Colts selected Florida's Anthony Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft on Thursday night and the team liked him so much they indicated that they would have taken him even if they had the No. 1 overall pick in the draft. 

Along with that bold proclamation, Irsay also said that Richardson will start this coming season, seemingly handing him an edge for the starting job over veteran offseason addition Gardner Minshew. 

Whether it is Richardson or Minshew -- or Nick Foles or even Sam Ehlinger -- the Colts will be on their seventh different starting quarterback over the past seven years when the season opens. It has been a constant revolving door at Lucas Oil Stadium ever since Andrew Luck's abrupt retirement in 2019, with none of the veterans they have acquired coming close to anything resembling a long-term answer.

Or even a short-term answer. 

Richardson is one of the most interesting prospects in this draft because his talent and skill gives him enormous upside. His combination of size and speed was unmatched by any quarterback in the class and he possesses a cannon for an arm. 

The concern with Richardson is his lack of playing time in college, having served as Florida's starting quarterback for just one year -- and he completed 53 percent of his passes in college. Some teams saw Richardson as more of a long-term project. His skill and pre-draft workouts, however, rocketed him up draft boards.

Now the Colts think they finally have their long-term answer. 

Of course, it is easy for Irsay to say they would have taken Richardson No. 1 overall because they did not actually have the No. 1 overall selection and did not have to make that choice. If Irsay and the Colts had actually owned that pick, they very well could have taken Bryce Young or C.J. Stroud -- the top two selections in the draft -- and probably would have, especially in the case of Young. No owner, general manager or coach is going to sit there on draft day and say "we wish we could have picked another player." 

Everybody is happy with their picks right now. Time will tell if they still will be in four or five seasons.