4 major observations Carolina Panthers can take from Anthony Richardson's pro day

Can the Carolina Panthers risk it all for Anthony Richardson?

There is an obvious fascination with Anthony Richardson. If he puts everything together and develops accordingly at the next level, someone is going to have a potentially generational talent on their hands. 

However, anyone expecting miracles right away will be out of luck. That's not to say Richardson couldn't start as a rookie with a smooth transition to the pros, but allowing him to develop as a long-term investment is the best course of action. 

The Carolina Panthers are after a Day 1 starter. Someone with the traits their new coaching staff can fine-tune to lead a gifted roster back to relevancy. 

Although Bryce Young and C.J. Stroud look like the primary candidates in that regard, former Panthers legend Steve Smith Sr. highlighted that no team will want to pass on the next big thing if Richardson reaches his ceiling. But what the floor might be is arguably more important.

"No one wants to be as the person who passed on Tesla or Amazon. Because now you have to look back and the question is gonna be when that owner says, ‘What guy told us not to draft him because of the floor?’ We know what the ceiling could be. But what is the floor? Is he a kid that you want him to play tomorrow? I don’t believe he’s ready to play tomorrow not because he can’t. It’s because he lacks the experience. And with lack of experience, it becomes a roller coaster. You don’t wanna allow a young kid to lose his confidence."

- Steve Smith Sr. via The Panthers Wire

Taking Richardson atop the draft would be a gamble of epic proportions. However, the Panthers didn't make this daring trade with the Chicago Bears to play it safe, so the dual-threat weapon is most definitely in contention until something concrete emerges.