Being the No. 1 overall pick of the NFL draft inherently comes with a bevy of responsibility. And that responsibility widens, quite considerably, when you’re taken out of that spot to be a franchise quarterback.
But as for who the Carolina Panthers just bestowed that upon, he won’t be carrying that burden by himself.
Assistant general manager Dan Morgan spoke with reporters ahead of Tuesday afternoon’s practice. When asked of Young—who he, obviously, had a hand in bringing over to Carolina—Morgan brought the usual praise.
“Bryce is just an impressive individual,” Morgan said, via ESPN’s David Newton. “I think, first and foremost, him off the field—just the kind of person he is, the kind of human being is—really makes you fall in love with the kid. And then obviously, you can see what he does on tape. He’s special. He’s got the pocket presence, he has the poise, he has the accuracy, anticipation. He has all those things you want.”
All those things may mean nothing, though, if there’s no one to share it with. Morgan and the rest of the Panthers front office, however, did some work this offseason to make sure that isn’t the case for the 22-year-old passer.
“And this isn’t Bryce’s show,” he added. “He’s not doing this alone. We’re not dependin’ on him to go out and make every single play. That’s why we brought guys in like [Adam] Thielen and Miles Sanders and DJ Chark and those kind of guys. So, this isn’t something that he has to do alone and it’s not all on his shoulders.”
In addition to those veterans, the Panthers also drafted second-round wideout Jonathan Mingo and fourth-round offensive lineman Chandler Zavala to help Young out. And while the rookie still doesn’t have the greatest of supporting casts, it’s a heck of a lot more than what the last franchise guy got when he started out here.
