Inside the Colts' pursuit of QB Anthony Richardson - ESPN

INDIANAPOLIS — Hours before the NFL draft began, Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay called quarterback Anthony Richardson and shared a secret he'd been keeping for weeks.

«I said, 'There's a good chance you'll be coming to Indy in three hours,'» Irsay said. «But I said, 'I don't know. We'll have to see what happens.'»

What happened next was the culmination of nearly two years of scouting, digging and debating as the Colts selected Richardson with the No. 4 overall pick.

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Later that evening, near the draft festivities in Kansas City, Missouri, Richardson celebrated with the people at the center of his world. Roughly 30 family members — including his grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins — along with his former coaches, friends and representatives joined him for an intimate post-draft party.

«I had to enjoy it with them because not many people get this opportunity, and not many people get to celebrate with their family and their loved ones,» Richardson said later. «So, I definitely took it upon myself to make sure they had a good time [Thursday] night, because now it's straight business and it's all work.»

Those are the words of a man who understands the gravity of the job in front of him. Seven different quarterbacks have started games for the Colts in the past four seasons. Remarkably, the Colts changed starting quarterbacks four times in 2022 when they finished with a 4-12-1 record. They've spent in excess of $100 million on quarterbacks since 2019 — when franchise QB Andrew Luck retired