So far, so good for Bryce Young’s sophomore season.
ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler talked about the Carolina Panthers and their second-year quarterback on a recent episode of SportsCenter. Fowler noted that Young, who’s now under the guidance of new head coach Dave Canales, impressed during organized team activities and mandatory minicamp.
“Here’s the feeling from the Panthers after coming out of the spring: They believe Bryce Young made two to three ‘wow’ throws most days,” Fowler said, via Adam Wells of Bleacher Report. “He was accurate, he showed maturity and taking that easy checkdown instead of trying to force things and he hit big plays off play-action. Now, the nuances of Dave Canales’ system, footwork, timing, rhythm, that was there but I was told that’s probably going to take a little more time. That’s what training camp’s for, but they believe he’s on the right track so far.”
Canales himself spoke about the early success of his 22-year-old passer at the beginning of mandatory minicamp last week.
“I would just say the comfort and familiarity with our terms, with the plays,” he said when asked of Young’s growth. “Today was, by far, his best day just operating the offense. The execution of the plays—defense makes plays, too. But as far as getting out of the huddle, getting to the line of scrimmage, moving the shifts and motions, using the cadence, figuring problems out with the protections—this was a fantastic day for Bryce in understanding what we’re trying to get done.”
Young’s progression will be the major storyline of the 2024 campaign for Carolina, who fielded the league’s least productive offense this past season. 2023 saw its No. 1 overall pick average just 179.8 passing yards per game with 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
