Falcons draft QB Anthony Richardson in TD Wire’s new mock

The Atlanta Falcons appear to be going into the 2023 season with Desmond Ridder as their starting quarterback, but there’s still a possibility that the team will add another signal-caller in next week’s draft.

Atlanta holds the No. 8 overall pick and recently hosted three of the top quarterback prospects — Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud, Kentucky’s Will Levis and Florida’s Anthony Richardson  — on top-30 draft visits.

While Stroud and Richardson are likely to be gone before the Falcons are on the clock, a new mock draft has Richardson falling into Atlanta’s lap due to a trade in the top five.

Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar released a new first-round projection which has the Texans trading for 49ers quarterback Trey Lance and drafting Georgia’s Jalen Carter at pick No. 2. This causes Richardson to drop all the way to pick No. 8, where the Falcons pounce on the Florida QB.

Falcons head coach Arthur Smith prefers a heavy play-action offense with multiple tight ends and a power running base. Atlanta has all the parts to work that except for the quarterback (sorry, Desmond Ridder). Richardson would add a developing quarterback sense, unbelievable ability as a runner, and measurables we’ve never seen at the position to that offense. Smith could design all sorts of evil run stuff with Richardson and Tyler Allgeier, and no Falcons receiver or tight end would be able to outrun Richardson’s deep ball. There would be bumps in the road early on, but the payoff could be something else. — Doug Farrar

Scouts believe Richardson has the highest upside of any quarterback in the 2023 draft class due to his combination of physical tools and pocket presence. In 2022, Richardson threw for 2,553 passing yards, 17 touchdowns and nine interceptions for the Gators.

Anthony Richardson is a QB prospect in the 2023 draft class. He scored a 10.00 #RAS out of a possible 10.00. This ranked 1 out of 915 QB from 1987 to 2023. https://t.co/EV9myLx2dp pic.twitter.com/tWPU9IVuUd

— Kent Lee Platte (@MathBomb) April 21, 2023