When Russell came out of college - I thought he was a can't miss candidate. Physically had everything you would want in an NFL quarterback - size, strength, a rocket for an arm - not saying I thought he would be in the HOF - but thought he would have a solid career unless injuries became a factor.

Now with that example as a testimonial to my football acumen - it takes much more than the physical attributes for a starting quarterback in the NFL.. If the game was played in shorts and evaluated by a stop watch and "skill" drills he might still be playing? Not sure if we can paint Richardson with the same brush?

It takes a certain amount of mental toughness and maturity to handle the pressure and the expectations of an entire team and the large chunk of fans who love the game and want to see "their" team do well. Remember the debate between experts when Manning and Leaf were drafted. I remember reading how Leaf was the physically gifted QB and that while Manning might be better short term - in the long run Leaf would have the better career.

I do not think Richardson is the QB I would gamble a first round pick - and yes finding the future face of the franchise is important it is also important that the first round pick makes the team and contributes right away. Well I haven't written anything of much consequence just thinking about how iffy the draft is. If the brain trust thinks there is a can't miss player take him don't gamble a first round pick on a project. Project QB's fail way more often than they develop into stars. There are some famous outliers but there is a reason they are considered outliers.