This weekend, Bryce Young has the chance to go where no one in his position has gone in the last two decades—on the left side of the column.
Sunday, of course, marks the regular-season premiere of the Carolina Panthers rookie passer. But it could also mark the 15th straight outing in which a quarterback who was selected first overall fails to come up with a win in their first career start.
Yeah, welcome to the NFL, kiddos.
The last No. 1 overall pick to lead his team to victory in his debut start was David Carr—way back in 2002. Carr, who was actually taken right before a certain Carolina legend, completed 10 of his 22 passing attempts for 145 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the Houston Texans’ 19-10 triumph over the Dallas Cowboys.
As for the No. 1’s who have gone under center since . . .
| Year | Team | Opponent | Result | Yards | TD-INT | |
| Carson Palmer | 2004 | Cincinnati Bengals | New York Jets | L 24-31 | 248 | 2-1 |
| Eli Manning | 2004 | New York Giants | Atlanta Falcons | L 10-14 | 162 | 1-2 |
| Alex Smith | 2005 | San Francisco 49ers | Indianapolis Colts | L 3-28 | 74 | 0-4 |
| JaMarcus Russell | 2007 | Oakland Raiders | San Diego Chargers | L 17-30 | 224 | 1-1 |
| Matthew Stafford | 2009 | Detroit Lions | New Orleans Saints | L 27-45 | 205 | 0-3 |
| Sam Bradford | 2010 | St. Louis Rams | Arizona Cardinals | L 10-13 | 253 | 1-3 |
| Cam Newton | 2011 | Carolina Panthers | Arizona Cardinals | L 21-28 | 422 | 2-1 |
| Andrew Luck | 2012 | Indianapolis Colts | Chicago Bears | L 21-41 | 309 | 1-3 |
| Jameis Winston | 2015 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Tennessee Titans | L 14-42 | 210 | 2-2 |
| Jared Goff | 2016 | Los Angeles Rams | Miami Dolphins | L 10-14 | 134 | 0-0 |
| Baker Mayfield | 2018 | Cleveland Browns | Oakland Raiders | L 42-45 | 295 | 2-2 |
| Kyler Murray | 2019 | Arizona Cardinals | Detroit Lions | T 27-27 | 308 | 2-1 |
| Joe Burrow | 2020 | Cincinnati Bengals | Los Angeles Chargers | L 13-16 | 193 | 0-1 |
| Trevor Lawrence | 2021 | Jacksonville Jaguars | Houston Texans | L 21-37 | 332 | 3-3 |
You’re up, Bryce.
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