“That was great, bro. That was awesome… we’ll find a court. Maybe when you move to Charlotte, we’ll find a court,” former Panthers Quarterback Coach Josh McCown said to C.J. Stroud after Stroud’s pro day (via CFB on Fox)—one month before the NFL Draft.
Fast forward a year and a half, and Bryce Young kicked off his sophomore campaign with the Carolina Panthers in a whopping 47-10 defeat versus the New Orleans Saints—the fourth-largest loss in Panthers history. It was the worst game Young has put on film in his 17 career starts, and it captured why he may never reach NFL-caliber play.
His footwork was more than sloppy. When the pocket even resembled muddled, Young’s feet, posture, and ball delivery became erratic. This was highlighted in the Panther’s first offensive play of the game, in which Young felt pressure in a clean pocket and didn’t step into a throw over the middle, sailing the ball into an interception. An ominous sign for Panthers fans.
The most glaring issue is that Bryce Young has the stature of a high school freshman without any exceptional traits to overcome it, such as Kyler Murray. His arm talent is okay, he has generally poor pocket awareness and isn’t especially gifted when trying to create off-script and make something out of nothing. If Young was 6’4 and 230 pounds he could be a serviceable quarterback. But in a league and a conference full of aliens at the position; 5’10, 200 lbs (supposedly) with no stand-out attributes is not enough.
The Saints film is riddled with sequences of Young looking overwhelmed. He had two separate plays of having to literally jump and throw the ball in an attempt to get it over defenders. Both incomplete. His attempts at scrambling or throwing on the run had dejecting results; either completely inaccurate throws or in one instance, running into his offensive lineman for a one-yard loss.
According to The Athletic Football Show, in the first half alone, Bryce Young was blitzed on six dropbacks, and he averaged -1.36 EPA per dropback. The Panthers lost over eight points in the first half from Bryce Young being blitzed.
Obviously, this isn’t all his fault as some of these Saints blitzers were coming completely untouched and it felt like a definite coaching issue. Head Coach David Canales spent just one year as an offensive coordinator before getting the call to be the head honcho and Offensive Coordinator Brad Idzik is in his first year as an OC and has been coaching in the NFL ranks for only 5 seasons. Carolina brass was clearly impressed with the job Canales did in resurrecting Baker Mayfield’s career a year prior in Tampa Bay. But hiring these inexperienced up-and-coming millennials has fielded mixed returns across the league. It will be interesting to see if Canales’ job security is directly tied to Young’s progression.
Bryce Young’s final stat line versus the Saints: 13/30, 161 yards, 2 interceptions, 4 sacks, 32.8 quarterback rating, 1 rushing touchdown.
At the end of the day, if an embarrassing team is fielded and the quarterback play is noticeably poor, heads will roll.
The Last Stand
This isn’t over…yet. While there is growing doubt that Bryce Young will ever make it to a second NFL contract, he will make it to the Panthers’ week 2 matchup versus the Los Angeles Chargers. And he will be the starting quarterback.
If I could become Bryce Young’s shrink for approximately 48 hours:
Throw out the expectations. Throw out the abundant resources the organization spent in acquiring yourself, and then again this offseason in trying to build a foundation around you. Lean into the zero discernably positive traits. Lean into your wavering confidence and the fact that there’s a seasoned veteran with luscious red hair waiting in the wings. Lean into the fact that you probably have 30 days or less to continue playing quarterback in the NFL. The fanbase has mostly turned on you. The organization was never fully behind you in the first place apart from your overbearing owner.
They’re all meaningless figures. You’re THE quarterback of an NFL team. History will remember your tenure no matter how it’s written. Make sure the ending has some punch, Bryce Young.