If football is wrong about Bryce Young — yes, football, it’s that unanimous — then there’s egg on everyone’s face. Maybe the game has gotten too technical and therefore too unpredictable. Maybe it’s just that none of us knows as much as we pretend to— writers, players, coaches, everyone.
Maybe Young won’t pan out for the Carolina Panthers, because, in case you needed reminding, even the highest-rated, most-touted, seemingly ideal quarterbacks don’t always go to plan as they transition from college to the pros.
But it just doesn’t seem like it, does it?
The Panthers’ QB has the feel of “can’t miss” about him, and that sense isn’t slowing down any as the new campaign hurtles ever closer with unapologetic haste.
The Heisman Trophy winner out of Alabama carries himself in the way of someone who knows challenging times are coming but has the utmost belief in his ability to meet and overcome those obstacles.
The talk around the league about him isn’t coy whispers, it is ferocious buzz, and if you get anywhere near Carolina, the noise is downright deafening.
Pity Panthers head coach Frank Reich a little, for he has the dual task of trying to build excitement in his team from its suffering fanbase and also trying to temper it, lest the hype get out of control.
Reich seems to split his time these days talking about all the reasons why Young is a special player capable of making a strong instant impact, with detailing historical cautionary tales as to why he might not.
He raves about Young’s leadership and his reads, his presence and adaptability. About things he has seen up close ahead of Saturday’s preseason opener against the New York Jets that could only have been guessed at before he was made the No. 1 overall pick.
“Patrick Mahomes sat on the bench his rookie year,” Reich told Sports Illustrated. “Peyton Manning was 3–13. Troy Aikman was 1–15.
Will Bryce Young end up being the best QB in the 2023 NFL Draft?
“The list goes on and on. So this is a two-to-four-year project. … with every sense of urgency to win every game and make the most of every day. Those things can both be true.”
Makes no mistake here: you don’t need to be particularly proficient at reading between the lines to figure out that Reich is mightily excited about Young and what he can do for the franchise.
Teammates say the same and it doesn’t seem like platitudes. Young’s new colleagues have mentioned time and again that everything just seems to be on point, from his conduct, to his maturity, plus his willingness to take in new information, spin it around his head a little, and figure out how it matches his game the best.
“It’s hard not to like (him),” linebacker Brian Burns said earlier in the summer. “He’s put quite a stamp on the locker room. He walks around with this kind of humble ‘but I know I’m the s***’ kind of swag. He knows he’s got it, but he’s humble with it.”
Then there was a seal of approval that wasn’t anticipated, when Aaron Rodgers took the opportunity of Jets-Panthers joint practices to give a glowing assessment of Young.
“I loved watching him in college,” Rodgers told reporters. “I like his demeanor. I like his movement. I like the way he throws. I think Carolina is in good hands.”
The Panthers find themselves with a fascinating opportunity in a division expected to be among the weakest in the NFL. Carolina could be a contender for the NFC South, with respectable incoming targets D.J. Chark, Adam Thielen and tight end Hayden Hurst, plus a run game that didn’t tail off like expected when Christian McCaffrey left. The Panthers have a strong offensive line and added Miles Sanders this offseason.
Before the draft, there was huge interest in the QB corps, with C.J. Stroud and Anthony Richardson joining Young in the top four. There will be more of it as the season progresses, with the Young/Stroud potential matchup, Texans at Panthers on Oct. 29, firmly circled on the calendar.
Week 1 sees a visit to Atlanta to take on the Falcons on Sep. 10, which will be our first opportunity to see what Young does in the heat of a regular season game.
You won’t hear any concerns about whether Young is good enough, and if there are any causes for pause they revolve around his size, and whether his 5’10-and-change frame can withstand the rigors of the league.
“Everything you hear from Bryce Young is exactly what you’d expect,” FOX Sports NFL analyst Geoff Schwartz said, on FS1’s “The Herd.” “The scouting reports said that mentally he is really far ahead of other QBs and everything you hear from Carolina is the same thing. He is doing things first-year players don’t typically do in an offense.
How much do you believe in Bryce Young?
“The question is the size — how’s he going to react when he gets hit the first couple of times? The Panthers can certainly win the division if he stays healthy. But that’s my concern, he’s going to have big linemen falling on him, can he stay healthy?”
There have been reports that Young has already added some bulk to make himself more durable and capable of withstanding what’s ahead.
He might want to pump some iron on those shoulders as well, for the expectations laid upon him are heavy.
