The Carolina Panthers drafted Bryce Young first overall in 2023 after trading up. They spent an unfathomable amount on him, and he pretty much did not justify their decision at all that year. At times, he was solid, but he was mostly below-average and sometimes awful. He looked like a major bust.
In year two, Young somehow got even worse and was benched. He returned and slowly started to play not only like he was worthy of being selected so high, but like he was a future star in the league. He started the final 10 games of the season, going 4-6 despite a lack of weapons and a historically bad defense.
But what happens if he regresses? Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon thinks the Panthers could move on. "Top 2023 pick Bryce Young made significant improvements in 2024 and finished extremely strong, but if he reverts at all to what we saw in his rookie season the Panthers could bail," he said.
This is pretty much the truth. If Young somehow goes back to his pre-Dave Canales form, then the Panthers will probably look elsewhere for a QB in 2026. However, this is not very likely. 10 games, albeit not all perfect, is a long enough stretch that this probably shouldn't be classified as a "Linsanity run." Young is undoubtedly much closer to the player that put 80 points combined on the Arizona Cardinals and Atlanta Falcons than the one who had more interceptions than touchdowns in 2023.
Plus, it cannot be understated how impressive he was. He did it with an aging, injured Adam Thielen, an inconsistent, injured Xavier Legette, and UDFA Jalen Coker as his weapons. He did it with the backing of a defense that gave up the most points in NFL history, too.
Additionally, all the underlying metrics and advanced analytics loved Young's play even if traditional box scores were a little more unimpressed. All signs point to a legitimate NFL QB, and perhaps even a special player. If he regresses, the Panthers will and probably should move on. He's just not likely to regress.
