Category: Carolina Panthers

Bryce Young has best game as a pro against Chiefs

Panthers QB Bryce Young has best game as a pro against Chiefs, pushing way back against the “bust” label

There wasn’t much light at the end of the tunnel for Bryce Young and the Panthers following his benching after a brutal two weeks to open the season. However, a miracle turnaround has happened and Young has taken this second chance and made the most of it with an impressive stretch of four games. Young’s most recent performance against the defending Super Bowl Champions was the best yet of his young career.

 

While over the three games prior Young has look much improved, this past Sunday vs the Chiefs, he looked like a completely reborn quarterback. Against one of the tougher defenses in the league Young ended up completing 21 of 35 passing attempts, for 263 yards, and a touchdown. Young made a handful of absolutely ridiculous throws that highlighted his anticipatory throwing talents that he showed off during the draft process and he looked calm and collected facing a ferocious Kansas City pass rush.

 

This game could be the turning point for Carolina and their confidence in Young and this offense. It’s all the more impressive when you consider the weapons Young has had to work with to this point, which consists mostly of rookies and an aging Adam Thielen. If Young can consistently string together performances like we saw on Sunday, he will no doubt be the answer moving forward for the Panthers.

Carolina is thriving on offense behind three rookies

The Carolina Panthers offense is perking up and the play of three rookie pass-catchers is a big reason why

Two wins in a row have not come easy for a Carolina Panthers team that has looked like a rock-bottom team for much of the season, but much of the credit for the winning streak must come from a trio of rookies that have made Bryce Young’s life a little easier in this Carolina offense.

 

Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and Ja’Tavion Sanders have been the top receiving options within this Panthers offense and they have thrived without Adam Thielen or the now traded Diontae Johnson on the field. While the offense isn’t blowing anyone out of the water, it has proved to be sustainable over a three game stretch and seems to be clicking now more than ever behind their young quarterback.

 

All three of these rookies continue to impress and find themselves in the top ten of rookie receiving numbers on the season so far. Coker, in particular, has impressed as an undrafted free agent, suddenly performing like a seasoned pro and being a serious outlet for Young. With veteran Adam Thielen making his way back from an injury soon, this Carolina team could continue to get better and defy expectations of being a bottom-feeding team. The Kansas City Chiefs are next up on the schedule, and if Carolina can manage to make their offense work against that stingy defense, they may just have set themselves up for years to come.

Last year’s No. 1 overall pick faces make-or-break game in Week 10

Last year’s No. 1 overall pick, QB Bryce Young of the Panthers faces make-or-break game in Week 10

It was one of the most deflating and unfortunate starts to the season for Bryce Young and the Panthers as the former number one overall pick was benched after two disastrous games to start the season. After an injury to then starter Andy Dalton, Young was thrust back into the spotlight as the backup for two games and looked much improved doing so. Now, with a decision coming from head coach Dave Canales to anoint Young as the starter once again going into week 10, the top draft pick faces a career-changing game against the New York Giants in Germany.

Young has shown a vast change from his first two starts of the season as he has gotten more comfortable in the Canales offense and seemed to have shaken off some early season pressure and jitters. Just last weekend, Young found the Panthers’ second win of the season against the New Orleans Saints and looked solid doing it, following up on another good performance against the Denver Broncos the week before.

 

While Young still has not quite lived up to the talent we saw when he was drafted out of Alabama, it’s good to see him improve and develop from where he was at the start of this season and the end of last year. Young clearly has a lot of work to do but if he can string together a third straight solid performance and even escape with another win, the tide could change for Young’s career.

The Carolina Panthers found a star in an undrafted free agent receiver

The Carolina Panthers found a star in an undrafted free agent receiver, Jalen Coker from Holy Cross

There were plenty of questions about the Carolina Panthers receiving core heading into the 2024 season, and while moves were made both in the trade market and the first round of the draft, there were still plenty of questions remaining. After injuries to both Adam Thielen and Diontae Johnson, undrafted free agent receiver Jalen Coker saw his first action as a starter last weekend against the Denver Broncos, and he made the most of it.

On Sunday Coker went up against a tough Denver Broncos defense. Despite having one of the better secondaries in the league, Coker found some big-time success with Bryce Young. On the afternoon, Coker hauled in 4 catches for 78 yards and a touchdown late into the fourth quarter. Coker looked as though he had a legitimate connection with Young and was consistently making big-time plays in crucial moments despite the blowout loss.

 

Now, with the trade of Diontae Johnson, it looks like Coker has a chance to be a full-time starter for the Panthers. If Carolina can get this offense moving with a quarterback change, Coker could be one of the biggest surprises to come out of the 2024 NFL Draft. How Coker went undrafted given his college tape and his clear pro skillset is a mystery that will likely never be solved.

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The clock is ticking for former first overall pick Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers

The clock is ticking for former first overall pick Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers after another rough outing

In what might become one of the biggest draft busts of the modern era, the Carolina Panthers find themselves in quite the conundrum with their quarterback situation. Now entering his second season after being selected first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young has looked abysmal through the first 17 games of his career. In a “prove it or lose it” modern NFL the Panthers could be forced to quickly move on from their massive investment.

https://twitter.com/SamMonsonNFL/status/1832854996515463194

Last Sunday against the division rival New Orleans Saints, Young had the worst game of his career…so far. Young ended up throwing interceptions on the first play of the game and the first play of the second half ending with a bottom of the barrel quarterback rating of 32.8. Young look jittered, uncomfortable, and looked as though he abandoned the fundamentals of the position with sloppy footwork and consistent overthrows.

This is not the future the Panthers had laid out for Young when they traded up for him in 2023, and after re-tooling his offensive line and the weapons around him the excuses from his rookie season are quickly starting to dry up. Young will need to improve his play immediately should he hope to in the starting spot let alone on next seasons roster. While not all hope is lost given we have seen Young look functional in a few games, the clock is ticking on his career with the Carolina Panthers.

Bryce Young leads impressive final drive to pick up second win of the season

Bryce Young leads impressive final drive to pick up second win of the season for the Carolina Panthers

It has been a humbling season for a quarterback who has been the best in the country at every level for most of his life. Experiencing the hardships of already losing a head coach, multiple changing hands at offensive play caller, and marching onto the field with one of the worst supporting casts in the league, Young has faced plenty of adversity. None of that seemed to matter in the waning moments of last Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.

While it was mostly a defensive battle between the division rival Panthers and Falcons, the game did ultimately fall on the shoulders of both of their signal callers in opposite ways. Atlanta quarterback Desmond Ridder tossed a horrific interception directly to a Carolina defender with just seven minutes left in the ball game up 7-6.

This sharply contrasted with the response by the No. 1 overall pick, Bryce Young, who was able to take the opportunity given to him by his defense and march his team from the Panthers’ own six-yard line all the way down the field to set up a game-winning field goal.

The calmness and poise that Young showed when chucking the ball with the game on the line in a cold and windy environment is precisely why Carolina moved up to the top of the draft to take him. If Young can string together some of what we saw on that final drive, and the talent around him can match, this Panthers team may end up surprising down the final stretch of the season.

Top pick Bryce Young’s struggles continues in latest loss

Top pick Bryce Young’s struggles continues in latest loss with the Panthers QB throwing two pick-sixes in Week 9 loss

It has been seemingly mirror-opposite seasons for the number one and number two overall pick in the 2023 draft, with quarterback C.J. Stroud coming off the greatest performance by a rookie quarterback ever, and Bryce Young coming off maybe his worst game of the season. It puts Young in tough territory in a seemingly lost season for the now 1-7 Panthers, and without much hope from his supporting cast it’s a wonder where he goes from here.

The Carolina Panthers and Bryce Young by no means had to take on world beaters this past Sunday with the Indianapolis Colts hanging firmly in the ‘below average’ tier of teams. That did not stop the Colts from dominating Carolina all afternoon, including their rookie quarterback. It certainly didn’t help that Young ended up throwing a career-high three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Young looked overwhelmed by the constant pressure his abysmal offensive line forced him into, and his lack of receiving options became woefully obvious.

It’s not unexpected for a rookie to see struggles in his first year on a bad team, but when the quarterback drafted one pick after him is performing at this high of a level consistently, fans are bound to take notice. Ironically enough, Young’s first victory came over Stroud just one week ago, but you would be hard-pressed to find a fan who would cite that victory as a beacon of hope for this rookie or the franchise.

There is plenty of time for Young to continue to develop and we have seen plenty of flashes as to why Carolina took him number one overall. It is just going to be up to this front office to completely overhaul the weapons surrounding Young and his protection in the immediate future. It would be hard for any quarterback to function like this, let alone a first-year player.

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Bryce Young gets his first win of the season in battle with C.J. Stroud

Panthers rookie QB Bryce Young gets his first win in battle with Texans rookie C.J. Stroud

There was a lot to be said about the game between the Carolina Panthers and the Houston Texans going into Sunday afternoon, especially the matchup between these two quarterbacks who were the number one and number two overall picks, respectively in the 2023 NFL Draft class. Houston entered as the favorite with C.J. Stroud playing some brilliant football, but it was Bryce Young who went home with the win.

It has been a rough year for Young who has played behind one of the worst offensive lines in the league and forced to throw to one of the thinnest receiving cores out there. There were floating questions about if Carolina made the right decision with the first overall pick, if Frank Reich should stick around, and if backup Andy Dalton should see time. All that noise has hushed with the massive win both narratively and in the standings for Carolina.

With veteran guard Austin Corbett returning from injury this Carolina offensive line proved to be much more stable in it’s protection of Young. While he did not light up the stat sheet, Young played well in a close low scoring contest. Young delivers 22 of 31 completions, 235 yards, and a single touchdown that was enough to put Carolina over the top.

It must feel like a huge weight off the shoulders of Young, who will now face a very winnable next couple of games. If this offensive line can sustain its protection of the rookie and the receivers continue to develop, who knows what can happen in a wild NFC South?

Young continues to develop as the season progresses and is looking more and more like the right choice for the Carolina Panthers.

Rookie stat projections: Carolina Panthers

Projecting the rookie stat contributions from the 2023 NFL draft picks by the Carolina Panthers

With the NFL draft over and rookie camps underway, it is a good time to evaluate the draft picks and see what kind of impacts the projected contributors will make.

Let’s take a look at the Carolina Panthers draft picks and project some stats for the early role players:

Did the Panthers reveal their plan for the No. 1 pick?

A hot mic might have captured the Panthers revealing their intention with the No. 1 overall pick

The Carolina Panthers sent a huge contingent to Columbus on Wednesday to check out the Ohio State pro day. Even owner David Tepper traveled to investigate the Buckeyes and potential No. 1 overall pick, QB C.J. Stroud.

The Panthers traded up from No. 9 to the top spot for a reason. And it is easy to see that reason is Stroud. New Panthers QB coach Josh McCown might have revealed that publicly during the pro day aftermath.

Cameras captured McCown and Stroud, along with other Panthers staffers including senior assistant Jim Caldwell, talking about playing some basketball together.

“We’ll find a court, play some horse,” McCown smiled as he told Stroud. “Maybe when you live in Charlotte, we’ll find a court.”

The key word here is “when”. McCown didn’t say “if”.