Bryce Young was taken by the Carolina Panthers with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Young won the Heisman while he was at Alabama and he has always been a tremendous quarterback. However, his rookie season with the Panthers didn't go so well as Carolina finished 2-15, and Young did not put up impressive stats.
Last season, Young finished the year 315-527 through the air for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
There is obviously a ton of pressure on Bryce Young after being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft, after a sub-par rookie season, that pressure is now being felt even more. Last year wasn't good, but Panthers tight end Adam Thielen thinks that there were a lot of things out of Young's control.
“Yeah, well, I'll say this: I mean, I think everything was stacked against him last year, unfortunately,” Adam Thielen said, according to an article from NFL.com. “And I'm not gonna get into detail as to why that was, but I'm just really excited for him to have a fresh start, an ability to have a good coaching staff that's gonna put a good plan together to help him be successful, and also to put people around him to help him be successful.”
The on-field results weren't there for Young and the Panthers, but the young QB did do well with the things that he could control. Thielen was impressed with the maturity that Young had despite being one of the youngest guys on the team.
“So with that being said, I think what he really showed is his maturity over the year,” Thielen continued. “I think his ability at times to just be very honest in front of the room and say, ‘Hey, this is what I'm not doing very well and this is what I need to get better at and please hold me accountable,' I thought was really impressive for a young guy.”
Year two is a big one for Bryce Young
Bryce Young can get somewhat of a pass for last season's struggles because he was a rookie, but now he needs to start putting it together for the Panthers. QBs that are taken first overall are taken because they are supposed to lead a turnaround for a team. It didn't happen last season, and things need to start trending upwards for Carolina this year.
“His maturity level over the season was really cool to see,” Thielen added. “And his ability to handle adversity. I don't know how much adversity Bryce has had over his football career, and to handle the amount of adversity he did, to show up every week, week in, week out, put his head down and work, try to lead to the best of his ability was really impressive, and what makes me excited about Year 2 with him.”
We saw at Alabama how talented Young can be, and that player is still there in Carolina. It takes some time to get acclimated to the league, so with another offseason under his belt, Young will be looking for a breakout season in year two of his NFL career.
Follow Us
Subscribe