The Indianapolis Colts are placing all their eggs in the Anthony Richardson basket. After years of cycling through quarterbacks, the team is hoping that the Florida product becomes their next franchise QB. The moment he was drafted by Indy, everyone knew that he was going to be THE guy for the team.

With that in mind, coach Shane Steichen and OC Jim Bob Cooter did not waste any time giving Richardson the best possible opportunity. The Colts rookie skyrocketed up the depth chart, working with first stringers early during his first preseason before getting the QB1 role. Cooter talked about the rationale of this decision with SI's Albert Breer.

“The thing everybody had to do back in high school or junior high—You gotta work your way up from third string to second string to first string—well, you take a look at NFL training camps these days,” Colts OC Jim Bob Cooter says. “The practice numbers are down, the rep numbers are down. If you take that path, you may end up getting in those reps with the 1s a little bit too late.”

“So it’s better to confront reality and just say, He’s (Anthony Richardson) sure going to compete for that starting job this year, let’s figure out our plan to get him some reps with the 1s, see how that works out, let him kind of find his way.”

Indeed, the old-school style had players “work” for the first string job. We saw something similar happen in Houston, where fellow rookie CJ Stroud “battled” for the first-string job. However, looking at the Colts' roster, it was painfully clear that Richardson should be their starter.

Instead of skirting around and doing the whole “fight for your job” shtick, the Colts decided to take a different approach. Instead, Cooter and Steichen worked to give Richardson all the tools he needs to succeed. That meant getting him familiar with the first team as soon as possible. It also meant tweaking the playbook to fit his strengths, as well as putting him in uncomfortable situations.

We're already seeing the results of this method pay off for the Colts. While he still makes mistakes, Anthony Richardson looks more comfortable as the lead guy of the offense. Here's to hoping we see more good things out of the rookie this season.