Greg Cosell routinely visits with teams during the offseason because his brain is an NFL Library of Congress. When he talks, coaches and general managers listen. And this week, in previewing the Bears-Colts game on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast, Cosell shared some interesting thoughts.
Caleb Williams and Anthony Richardson, who meet at Lucas Oil Stadium on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS), aren’t just the league’s youngest starting quarterbacks, they’re also poster players for game’s future. According to Cosell, that future presents a dilemma.
“What the college game is giving the NFL are great, great athletes, guys that can make plays outside of structure but who are really not overly efficient from the pocket,” said Cosell, who spent 44 years with NFL Films.
Williams and Richardson are not Troy Aikman or Carson Palmer, prototypical NFL quarterbacks from a bygone era. Now, NFL teams have to ask themselves whether they can live without traditional pocket efficiency in exchange for occasional “wow” plays outside the structure of the playcall.
While Kyler Murray also falls into this category, Cosell said, Richardson is the most unique.
“Anthony Richardson has missed a ton of easy, basic throws through two weeks, just stuff that high school quarterbacks could make. And, of course, Week 1 we saw him make some special throws that maybe only Anthony Richardson can make.
“Caleb Williams at this point in his career is kind of the same way, although he’s a better thrower from the pocket than Richardson at this point in time. So, what’s the balance there, and what are we trying to get accomplished as a coach?”
It’s a great question, especially when Murray, Richardson or Williams don’t make those special plays in a given game. Then what?
“Then, what do you have?” Cosell asked. “Do you have enough for the quarterback to be an effective player in that given game.
“It’s not likely Richardson or Williams will ever be Tom Brady or Drew Brees in terms of playing from the pocket but you’ve got to get them to some level, a higher level of efficiency, playing from the pocket.”