The Seattle Seahawks were among the teams heading into the 2023 NFL Draft thought to be interested in taking a quarterback with one of the high picks. Instead, the Seahawks decided to use their No. 5 overall pick (from the Denver Broncos) on Illinois Fighting Illini cornerback Devon Witherspoon. But the Seahawks probably would have taken quarterback Anthony Richardson if the Florida Gators product was still available by the time they got their turn to make a pick.

“We considered him, Pete Carroll said when asked if the Seahawks truly considered drafting Anthony Richardson during an interview on Seattle Sports (h/t Dugar, Michael-Shawn of The Athletic). “Shoot, we flew all the way out there to go see him. Not just to see him but to be around him and watch him and how he handled himself, and his program with all the hype that was going. We gave him tremendous consideration. He might be the best athlete that's ever been drafted at that position. He's arguably that. So, we had to definitely consider that.”

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Anthony Richardson was the third quarterback taken in the 2023 NFL Draft, with Bryce Young going first overall to the Carolina Panthers and CJ Stroud getting scooped off the board by the Houston Texans at No. 2 overall.

The Seahawks still have Geno Smith as their top quarterback, as they had just rewarded him with a three-year contract extension worth $75 million, but someone like Anthony Richardson could have given the team a long-term option in the most important position in football.