As he probably should have, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich stuck by his players last week—more specifically, his pass catchers. He told reporters, contrary to popular belief, that the team’s receivers are “getting open enough.”
Well, someone has some numbers that beg to differ.
According to Football Insights, Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is the NFL’s most accurate thrower to open/wide open receivers on passes of at least five air yards. But the bad news is that he has the lowest percentage of throws where his receivers have gained open separation.
How often QBs throw to open/wide open receivers and their charted accuracy (5+ air yard passes).
Think this may speak to the stale offense/weapons in CAR, but also Bryce Young’s ability to hammer tighter windows with his arm. pic.twitter.com/mHZLM3j17U
— Football Insights 📊 (@fball_insights) November 15, 2023
Of the Carolina pass catchers evaluated by NFL’s Next Gen Stats this season, none have averaged more than 3.2 yards of separation. That group includes Hayden Hurst (3.2), Terrace Marshall Jr. (3.1), Adam Thielen (2.9), DJ Chark (2.5) and Jonathan Mingo (2.1).
Young’s rookie campaign certainly hasn’t benefitted from those outcomes. The No. 1 overall pick is averaging just 195.0 passing yards per contest with eight touchdowns and seven interceptions over eight starts.
