Is it time for the Carolina Panthers to worry about Bryce Young?

After a 1-11 start and no discernible growth from rookie QB Bryce Young, is it time for the Panthers to worry?  

The offseason ahead of the 2023 season was one filled with immense promise for the Carolina Panthers. After the disaster of Matt Rhule, the hiring of Frank Reich brought real optimism, and this was only heightened when Reich brought together what many considered to be one of the league’s better coaching staff.   

The Panthers made the bold move to trade up with the Chicago Bears in order to select 1sr overall in the 2023 NFL draft and hopefully find a franchise QB. Despite early talk of CJ Stroud being the man for Carolina, the consensus was that Bryce Young was the best QB in the draft and it was no surprise when commissioner Roger Goodell called Young’s name first on draft night.   

But what has followed through the first 13 weeks of the NFL season, sees the Carolina Panthers sitting at 1-11, Frank Reich already fired and many questioning whether Bryce Young may be the next big bust in the NFL.   

Young has struggled immensely in his early NFL career, following a 28-6 loss to the New Orleans Saints which saw the Panthers fall to 1-11 and Young fall to 1-10 as a starter it’s hard to argue the Panthers aren’t at rock bottom. Through 10 games the former Alabama man is completing just 58.5% of his passes, has under 2200 passing yards on the seasons and has just 9 passing touchdowns along with 9 interceptions.

Now, while it’s fair to level some criticism at Young for his subpar play, however, it’s hard to argue against him being in the worst situation for any QB around the league let alone for a rookie. A litany of errors by the Panthers front office and coaching staff have made it almost impossible for the rookie to succeed.   

In the move that saw the Panthers move to the top of the draft, they decided to package in WR DJ Moore who was far and away the Panthers’ best WR, in what was a down year in terms of free agents at the position this seemed an unwise decision. What has transpired is Moore is flying in Chicago posting 1071 yards receiving and 7 TDs through 13 games.   

As for the Panthers outside of Adam Thielen who has impressed on his way to 827 and 4 TDs no other receiver has broken 400 yards with rookie Jonathon Mingo next with 377 yards. On the subject of Mingo, the Panthers may already be regretting the move to draft the former Ole Miss WR at pick 39.   

Despite a college career with limited production in college, his impressive athletic skillset tempted the Panthers to take the player early in the second round. What has followed from Mingo has been a huge disappointment. While receivers drafted later such as Tank Dell, Rashee Rice, and Puca Nacua continue to excel, Mingo is yet to find the endzone and his season has been littered with poor route running and a severe lack of effort.   

It’s not just on the field we’ve seen real issues with this Panthers team, what was touted as a so-called “all-star coaching staff” failed to live up to the billing. This in part led to Reich’s firing after a 1-9 start and with him went QBs coach Josh McCown and RBs coach Duce Staley. With Reich fired the spotlight has been shone on offensive coordinator Thomas Brown.   

Brown arrived in Carolina as a hot prospect, with glowing references from his former boss Sean McVay one of the league’s innovative offensive coaches many were excited at the prospect of pairing Brown with Bryce Young. What followed in Browns’ short time calling plays has been a huge disappointment for Panther fans.   

The short-yardage play-calling has drawn the ire of fans with the team failing to call the correct plays. The Panthers’ insistence on having Bryce Young operating exclusively in the pistol and shotgun formation almost totally excludes the threat of the play action pass something which Young excelled throwing at Alabama.   

Brown will likely be out of Carolina this offseason as a new head coach will want his own OC, but this period is an opportunity for him to showcase his talents to those around the league as he looks to secure another coaching job. With what we’ve seen from Brown so far, he is failing miserably.   

So, what can the Panthers do to help Bryce Young? Well hiring the right coach is key, it’s already been reported by national media that David Tepper will target an offensive-minded coach to help Young. Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson, who was the favourite for the job a year ago is a name already being banded around the Panthers could go after.  

They need to surround Young with multiple skill players, this means when the Panthers likely pick with the first pick of the second round, they should be selecting a WR. Texas’ Adonai Mitchell and Oregon’s Troy Franklin are two potential options, this is also a deep WR free agency class with the likes of Tee Higgins, Calvin Ridley, and Mike Evans all potentially available.   

According to Over the Cap, the Panthers are currently projected to have just under $40 million in cap space in 2024, that number could easily be elevated with some smart contract restructures and cutting some players to save cap space. With potentially a new front office in place, allocating a large chunk of the available funds to finding a top-tier WR1 for Bryce Young is key.   

With just 4 games to go this season, the Panthers must consider the idea of benching Bryce Young for his own good. If the team wants to win any games down the stretch veteran Andy Dalton gives them the best chance of doing so, and while early in the season reps were important for Young, continually trotting him out behind an offensive line that simply cannot protect him is damaging.   

Panther fans can only hope this season of upheaval has not had a Zach Wilson-type effect on Young because if things don’t improve in 2024 the Panthers may find themselves back in the QB market in 2025.