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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Anthony Rizzuti

Panthers veterans give early impressions of rookie QB Bryce Young

The Carolina Panthers brass is, obviously, extremely high on quarterback Bryce Young. You kinda get that sense after the organization used this year’s No. 1 overall pick on the kid, no?

But how do Young’s new teammates feel about him?

Carolina Blitz editor-in-chief Vashti Hurt took that pulse on Thursday. Following the latest installment of organized team activities, Hurt asked two pretty pertinent veterans for their early impressions of the rookie passer.

The first was linebacker and second-longest tenured Panther Shaq Thompson.

“Man, I think that kid is smart,” he replied. “He understands football, he understands the playbook. He’s making great throws out there. And he just learnin’ how to be a pro, ya know?

“He’s a Cali kid, so shoutout to California. And he’s just one of those kids who’s coming in and I think he’s gonna be great. He has Andy Dalton there, Josh McCown, all these other quarterback coaches around him. So, it’s gonna be an awesome thing to see and I can’t wait for him to grow and see what he got.”

Next up was a guy who’ll likely be protecting him when he finally hits the pro playing field—guard Brady Christensen.

“Can’t speak highly enough of him,” he said. “Just the way he carries himself, his leadership, his confidence. You can tell—I’m just really excited to be able to protect him and see what he can do.”

So, there seems to be a lot of can’t-wait-and-see when it comes to the new face of the franchise.

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