It’s safe to say that Bryce Young’s first season with the Carolina Panthers didn’t go as planned. The rookie quarterback had the worst completion rate of any player who started at least ten games, and of course, the Panthers finished in last place of the NFL standings.
Young’s struggles got Frank Reich fired, but now the Panthers have a new head coach leading the team, and he’s a big believer in their young quarterback.
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Dave Canales has no doubts Bryce Young is the Carolina Panthers’ franchise QB
Is Bryce Young the Carolina Panthers’ franchise QB? Based on the price paid to trade for him, he better be. Only, the Panthers haven’t seen any evidence of Young becoming a star, or superstar just yet. Sure, there are flashes that display his advanced football IQ, but not consistently enough.
Then again, should we have expected a 22-year-old to look like a seasoned vet in his first NFL season? C.J. Stroud’s first year is an anomaly, and it’s almost unfair to have him to compare to, but the truth is these two young quarterbacks were placed in entirely different situations, and luckily for Young, he has more than just one year to make a lasting impression.
But his new head coach Dave Canales appears to be a big believer in the young Panthers QB. During his introductory press conference, Canales couldn’t resist heaping praise on the former Heisman winner, saying he has no doubts that the Panthers have their franchise QB on the roster. He just needs more time to develop, in addition to more help.
“The more that I got ready for this interview and started watching Bryce, looking at my notes from his eval, that’s just a year ago, we were evaluating him as a player, as a person, with all the information that we could, I just got more and more fired up about the opportunity to have this amazing talent. And he’s the guy. He’s the right guy. We all talk about when we have that quarterback, that face of the franchise type of player, and that got me really excited.”
Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales on Bryce Young
Canales left Tampa Bay, who just won the NFC South thanks to an excellent season from Baker Mayfield, and expectations point to the former No. 1 overall pick re-signing with the Buccaneers. After Canales got a strong season out of Mayfield, can he do the same with another former top pick?
It’s hard to imagine Carolina’s season going any worse than it did the past two years. In other words, it’s all uphill from here.
