The Carolina Panthers traded their 9th pick and 61st pick of the 2023 draft, their 1st round pick of the 2024 draft, their 2nd round pick of the 2025 draft, and wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears in exchange for the 1st overall pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. The Panthers used that pick to draft Bryce Young 1st overall in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Fast forward to now, Carolina finished the regular season with the worst record in the NFL at 2-15. Since they traded up to draft Young, Carolina will not have the 1st pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.
To make matters worse, Young did not have the best rookie season compared to other rookie quarterbacks who were drafted after him.
We will be assessing his rookie season compared to other rookie quarterbacks. We will also assess his supporting cast and his strengths and weaknesses.
How did the Carolina Panthers rookie perform this season?
The Houston Texans drafted C.J. Stroud 2nd overall. Stroud went 319/499 for 4,108 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, five interceptions, an 82.8 PFF Grade, and a 9-6 record.
The Tennessee Titans drafted Will Levis 33rd overall. Levis went 149/255 for 1,808 passing yards, eight touchdowns, four interceptions, a 63.5 PFF Grade, and a 3-6 record.
The Las Vegas Raiders drafted Aidan O’Connell 135th overall. O’Connell went 213/343 for 2,218 passing yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions, a 65.9 PFF Grade, and a 5-5 record.
Young’s supporting cast
The main reason why Young struggled was because he had one the worst supporting casts in the league. They had one of the worst receiving corps, rushing offenses, and offensive lines.
The receiving corps struggled. They had the 10th-fewest receptions, the fewest receiving yards, the 2nd-fewest receiving touchdowns, and the 2nd-fewest first-down receptions.
Their top three receivers were Adam Thielen, D.J. Chark, and Jonathan Mingo. Thielen was their number-one receiver. He had 103 receptions on 137 targets for 1,014 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Chark was their number-two receiver. He had 35 receptions on 66 targets for 525 yards and five touchdowns. Mingo was their third-leading receiver. He had 43 receptions on 85 targets for 418 yards.
Their running game also struggled. They finished 19th in attempts, 20th in rushing yards, 30th in rushing touchdowns, 23rd in yards per carry, and 16th in rushing first downs.
Their top two rushers were Chuba Hubbard and Miles Sanders. Hubbard had 902 rushing yards on 238 carries and five touchdowns, and Sanders had 432 rushing yards on 129 carries and one touchdown.
Their offensive line wasn’t any better. They didn’t do a good job of creating holes for the running backs. They finished 30th in run block win rate.
They also struggled with protecting their quarterback and were 23rd in pass block win rate. Young was hurried 38 times (13th), hit 50 times (5th), pressured 150 times (3rd), pressured on 24.2% of his dropbacks (9th), and was sacked 62 times (2nd).
What were his strengths?
One of his strengths is his toughness. Despite being 5’10” and weighing 205 lbs, he managed to start in 16 out of their 17 games. Young missed Week 3 due to an ankle injury and managed to start the rest of the season, and missed one snap since Week 4. He also took a beating and managed to get back up.
Another strength is his ability to extend plays. Young did a good job of extending plays with his feet. Young didn’t run the ball much in college and had 162 career rushing yards at Alabama. Young had 253 rushing yards on 39 carries and had 18 rushes for a first down.
What were his weaknesses?
One of his weaknesses was that he had the worst sack rate on pressured dropbacks. 25% of his pressured dropbacks resulted in sacks according to PFF.
Another weakness was his inaccuracy. Young struggled with downfield accuracy. He had a difficult time completing passes 20+ yards downfield and would overthrow his intended target. He also had 103 bad throws (2nd) and a bad throw percentage of 21.5% (1st)
What does the offense need?
The offense needs a few more wide receivers, another running back, and two starting-caliber interior offensive linemen.
Will Bryce Young turn it around next season?
The Carolina Panthers are actively looking for a new general manager and head coach.
Hopefully, the new GM will build a talented roster around Young, and the new head coach will do a better job of developing him.
Will Bryce Young be able to turn it around and have a good second season with a new regime?
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