Bryce Young's rookie season with the Carolina Panthers did not go as planned. The 2023 #1 pick was beaten and battered behind a subpar offensive line with below average weapons at his disposal, and looked incredibly ordinary while his counterpart, #2 overall pick CJ Stroud, looked extraordinary while leading the Houston Texans to the postseason. The Panthers are without their 1st round pick — which would've been the 1st overall pick in the draft — so the majority of the meaningful moves they'll make this offseason will be in free agency. And they didn't take long to make a splash.
BREAKING: Free agent guard Robert Hunt plans to sign with the #Panthers, sources tell @BleacherReport. pic.twitter.com/YhrFQLsGKu
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) March 11, 2024
Robert Hunt was the 6th-highest rated Guard by Pro Football Focus this past season playing for a Miami Dolphins offense that was among the best in the NFL. While he was limited to just 11 games last season due to a hamstring injury, Hunt has been otherwise healthy throughout his career, and should provide some support for Bryce Young, who was among the most pressured quarterbacks in the league last season. Per Pro Football Focus, Young was under pressure on 41 percent of his dropbacks during his rookie season, the fourth-most among qualified quarterbacks. An even bigger problem: Young completed only 39 percent of his passes when he was pressured, which was the worst mark in the NFL.
Hunt's ability to solidify the interior of the Panthers offensive line will help evaluators get a fair read on the development of the former Alabama product who looked small and overwhelmed during his first season in the league. The talent is clearly there… he wouldn't have gone 1st overall otherwise. Perhaps the steep price the Panthers paid for Robert Hunt factors in his ability to raise the ceiling of Bryce Young.
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