The Carolina Panthers made quarterback Bryce Young their franchise quarterback by selecting him No. 1 overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. Now that the dust has settled, it’s time to focus on what will happen on the field. Rosters are mostly set, and training camp will be here in a few months.
Let’s dive into what made Young a premier prospect, how those skills and traits translate, and how the Panthers can get the most out of Young.
How the Panthers Can Help Bryce Young Succeed
The 2023 NFL Draft class had three quarterbacks go in the top-four picks, making it one of the stronger classes in recent years in terms of capital used at the position.
The Panthers, desperate to finally land a franchise passer, moved Heaven and Earth to jump from the ninth overall pick to No. 1. They traded star receiver DJ Moore, the ninth and 61st overall picks in 2023, a 2024 first-round pick, and a 2025 second-round pick for the rights to select Young.
It was a heavy price to draft a player who is one of the smallest quarterbacks in NFL history. Young, who won the Heisman Trophy and the 2021 National Championship at Alabama, amassed an impressive statistical résumé while playing under Nick Saban and Bill O’Brien. He completed 65.8% of his passes, boasting 9.9 air yards per attempt, 80 passing touchdowns, and only 12 interceptions.
O’Brien, who previously coached Tom Brady and Deshaun Watson, said Young had a skill set he had “never seen before.” It sounds crazy considering that Brady is the undisputed GOAT as a winner and Watson led the NFL in career passer rating entering 2022. However, Young clearly has something special going for him as a leader.
The Panthers were effusive in their praise for Young. First-year Panthers head coach Frank Reich fell in love with Young’s particularly strong mental acuity, noting meetings with Young were “next level.” He also thought Young was simply the best player on film.
MORE: FREE Mock Draft Simulator With Trades
That all being said, Young is a 5’10”, 204-pound quarterback who suffered a sprained AC joint after being pushed to the ground. He doesn’t have an especially strong arm and, despite the praise, often opted against playing within O’Brien’s structure and preferred to break the pocket and extend plays. The Panthers will need to build around his skill set to protect Young and grow his game.
Reich has already said Young will start eventually but won’t immediately take first-team snaps. It’s debatable as to what strategy is best, but after breaking down every throw from Young’s career and categorizing his passes as catchable or not, Young could use some refinement.
He might be as sharp as a tack on the whiteboard and the film room, but he hesitates on the field at times and is more comfortable buying time so his pass catchers create more separation than what’s necessary.
As legendary defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said, giving rookie quarterbacks “as many problems as we can” will be a priority until a quarterback can prove capable of handling a multitude of pre- and post-snap looks. Young didn’t always correctly identify pre-snap blitzes and coverage drops at Alabama, so it’ll be an adjustment to more complex reads, as it is with every young passer.
Experience and confidence can help that, but those were also issues for previous busts at quarterback like Johnny Manziel, Zach Wilson, and Trey Lance. Young certainly has a higher floor than those players, but there will be a learning curve, and Reich can’t feed into Young’s bad habits. Instead, he has to build around his accuracy and ability to take care of the ball.
MORE: Carolina Panthers 2023 NFL Draft Grades
Young’s game can best be characterized as a traditional point guard. Compared to every other drafted quarterback since 2013, his accuracy is solid but not elite. I broke down the number of passes he threw that hit his receiver in the hands or body and were reasonably catchable and found Young to be highly functional but also a bit underwhelming, considering his reputation.
On his 150 passes from 0-10 yards in 2022 that weren’t throwaways, Young threw a catchable pass on 77% of attempts, tying him with Trevor Lawrence and Tua Tagovailoa. Though this was almost 10% lower than Joe Burrow’s ridiculous rate, it’s still on par with many top prospects and something to build around.
His throws from 11-19 yards were more favorable, as 68% of his attempts were catchable, putting him in line with Jimmy Garoppolo, Jared Goff, and even Jalen Hurts. His throws 20 or more yards were infrequent (only 44 attempts all season) but above average compared to his peers.
Young’s situational numbers were also in the good but not elite territory. He was mediocre while under pressure, throwing a catchable pass on 54% of attempts with a defender nearby. That number put him in line with Ryan Tannehill, Dak Prescott, and a lot of players who busted in the NFL.
He also compared to Prescott on third and fourth downs, throwing a catchable pass on 69% of those attempts. While nice, it’s not a stellar number, and it’s a far cry from Tagovailoa’s 86%, Burrow’s 77%, and Justin Fields’ 75% rates.
His best strength was attacking the intermediate part of the field while keeping his interceptable passes to a minimum. Only 2.29% of his passes hit a defender in the hands, ranking among the best rates I’ve charted in the last decade.
Considering he’s a plus passer to all levels –even if not elite — plus the fact he takes care of the ball, Young has a strong skill set to build a varied attack. This fits Reich’s history as a play-caller, as Carson Wentz’s peak featured high air yards per attempt and low interception rates despite the tendency of wanting to break the timing of the scheme. In theory, despite their massive difference in size and traits, Young can be a much more reliable version of peak-Wentz.
MORE: Carolina Panthers 2023 Schedule
Protecting Young and helping him avoid direct hits will go a long way in that mission. Every quarterback is susceptible to injuries regardless of size, but Young’s unique stature is especially concerning because he does like to break the pocket.
The good news is Carolina’s rebuilt offensive personnel is promising. Losing Moore will hurt, and the decision to swap out D’Onta Foreman for Miles Sanders makes sense with the scheme change. But the team has an improved offensive line that is athletic, and Sanders proved capable of being a workhorse in 2022 for the Eagles.
The receiving room is revamped but only mediocre. Terrace Marshall Jr. was promising enough at the end of 2022 to fight for the third receiver role with 2023 second-round pick Jonathan Mingo. Free agent signee DJ Chark can be a very good starter when he’s healthy, and a washed-up Adam Thielen has some value as a possession receiver.
There are a lot of “ifs” in the receiver room with injuries and development, so there’s pressure on Young to squeeze the most out of them. If Chark goes down at any point, and if Young doesn’t trust Thielen’s lack of separation, the unit will be in trouble quickly. The big blemish on Reich’s résumé is his inability to develop less-heralded receivers with sharp scheming and route combinations.
Reich has the talent and big bodies available to him for Young to feast on contested throws. The lack of quickness within the receiving room can be tough for less-experienced quarterbacks and can be a difficult challenge because Young wants to see his receivers coming open before throwing. But if Reich can do a better job of using misdirection and play action, defenders won’t be bearing down onto Young’s back right away.
Expect 2023 to be filled with teachable moments. Young may not have been the best fit for this offensive personnel, but the Panthers aren’t tied to anyone on the unit besides Young in the long term. They plugged holes as well as they could on a bare unit.
The balancing act of focusing on Young’s strengths as a distributor and occasional playmaker while improving his execution within the scheme won’t be easy. However, it’s critical for the Panthers to get the most out of Young in Year 1 and well beyond.
