With the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Carolina Panthers selected 2021 Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Bryce Young out of Alabama.
The Panthers traded up to do so, sending 2023 first and second round picks, a 2024 first round pick, and wide receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears in exchange for the coveted number one overall pick.
Yet, despite the fanfare around Young, Panthers' general manager Scott Fitterer has said that Andy Dalton is still the Panthers' starting quarterback.
“We're going to rely on our coaches to decide when it's right,” Fitterer told Pro Football Talk. “We don't have a timeline. We're not saying, ‘Hey, this guy's going to start the first game or we're not going to play him at all this year. When the time is right or we feel like he's got enough mastery of the offense, that's when he'll be out there.”
As for Dalton: “He's got a lot of experience. He understands his role and he can play good football. He'll walk into the season as the starter, and then the young guys compete underneath him, then they'll go when they're ready.”
The big takeaway from Fitterer's response here is how he deflects all the attention from Bryce Young, which is an incredibly smart strategy.
With the focus put on Andy Dalton, Young is able to enter camp with less pressure and take the time to learn the Carolina offense.
The plan all along could, and should, be for Young to start on opening day, but with this early statement from the Panthers organization, now expectations from the fan base are minimized.
With a veteran offense that includes skill players like Adam Thielen, Miles Sanders, and DJ Chark, plus a solid offensive line, there is no reason that Young should not be starting right away.
Young joins a 7-10 team that was 3-5 in one-score games, putting them just a hair away from the playoffs. If this was a team going through a complete rebuild, then Andy Dalton would be the perfect guy to shoulder the burden of the team's imminent failure.
Instead, Young has the tools around him to be immediately successful, and the clever public relations work by the Panthers organization ensures that their young quarterback faces as little pressure as possible during training camp.
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