There is something to be said about young quarterbacks sitting and learning from the aging veteran. In some cases, it has shown to be a positive and the next in line has had success. Patrick Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith. Jordan Love sat behind Aaron Rodgers. Even Tom Brady sat behind Drew Bledsoe. All three of those examples have worked out tremendously for their careers. If all keeps trending upward, the same can be said for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young.

The Early Struggles

It is truly a shame that the NFL does not have a developmental league. Understandably, players enter the league at a much older age compared to the NBA, MLB, and even the NHL. However, more often than not once you are drafted (especially high in the draft order) you are thrown into the line of fire right away. The pressure is on almost immediately and the hype surrounding these players begins before they even take a snap. For Young, the pressure was on almost from the start.

The Panthers gave the Chicago Bears a kings ransom to be able to move up to the number one spot. They grabbed their quarterback of the future, which they certainly needed. However, he was thrown to the wolves and you can argue he wasn’t built to succeed. The offensive line was not good, there was no established run game, and the club just traded what would’ve been his best pass catcher in DJ Moore.

In year one, Young threw for 2,887 yards and finished with a completion percentage of 59.8%. Young had trouble reading defenses early on and was pretty hung out to dry. You could give him a pass because the cast around him was not great. So let’s fast forward a year shall we.

In year two, the Panthers did everything they could in order to have Young succeed. They hired Dave Canales to be the head coach, who spent time reviving the career of Baker Mayfield. They reinforced the offensive line and even added weapons at the receiver position. Despite that, Young struggled.

Young struggled right from the start. He made poor throwing decisions and couldn’t hit the open receiver. The offense had absolutely no rhythm with him under center and they were inept to moving the football. The first game against the Saints was ugly. He was 13-30 and only 161 yards, which was not a good way to start. At home against the Chargers, he threw for ONLY 84 yards. At that point you had to be thinking “did we really give away all that for THIS?”. It certainly felt that way at the time, but the decision to bench him was the right call and it’s paid off.

Revived From the Benching

After a dreadful 0-2 start to the season, the Panthers turned to the veteran signal caller Andy Dalton. They hit the road and defeated the Raiders and with him under center the offense had rhythm. They were able to effectively run the football and also were able to sustain drives and push the ball downfield. It was night and day between Dalton and Young. Unfortunately, Dalton got in a car accident and the young quarterback was pushed back into action.

It’s been better under center. Young looks confident and much more competitive under center. He is making good throws and quality throws at that. In his last five starts, the Panthers have won two games. Furthermore, the most impressive game was against the Kansas City Chiefs. Young was able to go toe to toe with Patrick Mahomes.

The Panthers were down 27-19 at the end of the fourth quarter and were able to come back and force overtime. It was arguably the best start Young has had in his career. For two weeks in a row now and against playoff quality talent, Young has put together a game tying drive or a drive to take the lead in the fourth quarter. That’s growth from the young signal caller. After the game against the Buccaneers, Canales held high praise for his quarterback.

“Just the operation, being decisiveness with the ball. Knowing they were giving us a bunch of looks and handling the challenge of it. Studying the film throughout the week to find the voids in the different pressures and things that they brought. The decisiveness in play is what’s critical at the position, and he did a great job of that today.”

The benching served a purpose. Not to punish, but to learn and grow.

The Benching Served a Purpose

It is never easy to make a decision to bench a player, but sometimes the hard decisions need to be made. Evidently, the benching served a purpose and worked out for the better. Young was able to sit and learn behind Dalton and also study film and perfect his craft. This was not a punishment for the player, but to help him grow and be better.

Young has been better and looks better under center. He is showing why he was taken first overall. Is it too early to say he’s fixed? Maybe. But he has certainly been better and that’s all you can ask for if you are Coach Canales and the Panthers organization.