Colts’ Anthony Richardson has unusual take on NFL’s level of difficulty

Despite having just four games of pro experience, Indianapolis Colts second-year quarterback Anthony Richardson seemingly feels like he’s got the NFL figured out.

During a recent interview on the “Club 520 Podcast,” Richardson hinted that he actually had it harder at Florida than he does right now as the Colts starting QB.

“Playing in the NFL? I feel like it’s easier than college,” Richardson said. “For real, for real. In college, you got players, like, they good, and they know they good but they’re not as confident. They got to rely on other players to do this for them to do that. But in the league, everybody [is] trying to work to stay in the league, trying to keep their job. That just lets me know, I ain’t got to do too much. I got to do my job and he got to do his job. It’s going to work.”

Richardson’s remarks are a bit ambiguous.

It’s not clear whether he’s talking about the difference in skill or the difficulty of playing pro over college football. His words could be interpreted as he simply feels his role is easier to understand in the NFL than it was in college.

While that line of thinking may be right, the 22-year-old may want to wait until he has a bigger body of work to compare it to.

In four games during his rookie season, Richardson finished only one of them. He left early due to injury in the other three — two of which he didn’t make it past halftime.

His 59.5 completion percentage was well below the NFL average of 64.5, as was his 87.3 passer rating (the NFL average was 89.1.) Additionally, his 3.6 touchdown percentage ranked 23rd, and his 7.7 sack percentage was ninth-worst among QBs to start four or more games.

So if Richardson truly believes the level of difficulty was higher in college than it is in the NFL, his stats tell a different story.