The teams considering taking a quarterback in the top 10 of the draft are fairly well known at this point. Beyond that, the candidates to draft a quarterback aren’t known.
More specifically, the candidates to move up into round one to draft a quarterback aren’t known.
We’ve seen it before. Six years ago, the Chiefs sprang up to No. 10 to get Patrick Mahomes, at a time when they had Alex Smith. Given Richardson’s potential, it’s entirely possible that there’s a team out that that has become smitten with Richardson and hopes to get him.
And maybe they will. Until then, they won’t say jack squat.
It likely will happen when the pick used to get Richardson is on the clock. Possibly at No. 3, when the Cardinals select.
Peter King mentioned during Friday’s PFT Live that, when the Bears were shopping the first overall pick, a team not in the top 10 was exploring a jump to the top of the draft order. If that team wanted Richardson, it could still jump to No. 3 — assuming the Panthers take C.J. Stroud at No. 1 and the Texans take Bryce Young at No. 2.
Regardless, it’s always important to expect the unexpected when potential franchise quarterbacks are in the draft pool. The Bills traded up to get Josh Allen. The Ravens traded up to get Lamar Jackson. The Chiefs traded up to get Mahomes. The Texans traded up to get Deshaun Watson.
It makes sense to think that someone is quietly pondering moving up to get Richardson.