The Carolina Panthers, owners of the NFL’s worst record a season ago, have started off in disastrous proportions, and a shocking change came as Bryce Young, the team’s No. 1 overall pick from a season ago, was benched.
Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton will be leading Dan Canales’ newly installed offense in Charlotte this week, as Young has thrown three interceptions, no touchdowns and only 245 yards with a 55.4% completion rate over his first two games.
The Panthers invested tons of capital in Young, trading away high draft picks and veteran receiver D.J. Moore to the Chicago Bears two years ago for the opportunity to choose first overall in the 2023 Draft. They went with the Crimson Tide product in Young, while the Houston Texans took C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State.
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At the moment, the Texans look like they got the better of the two, but ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr. does not think this downward trend is all on Young.
In an epic rant on "Get Up" Tuesday morning following the news of Young’s benching, Kiper ripped into the Panthers organization.
"I think mishandle is the word because when you drafted Bryce Young, you knew he was an outlier," Kiper began, via Awful Announcing. "Like, Russell Wilson was bigger. Taller, but only 5’10" and three quarters. That opened it up for the 5’10" quarterback. But Russell Wilson was 205 [pounds], 208 coming out. Not 180.
"Kyler Murray, because of Russell Wilson, became the No. 1 pick overall. Different body type than Bryce Young. So, you knew Bryce Young was not only short, but a small, diminutive quarterback who needed help, right?
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"Also, continuity. You draft a quarterback. Everybody says he’s got this great infrastructure in Carolina around him with the head coach, the coordinator, the quarterback coach. Everything’s there. The senior assistant, everything’s in place. And then you see him beat C.J. Stroud on the field as a rookie. You take out the three games he threw multiple interceptions, he was six touchdowns, three picks. That’s some decent games last year."
The Panthers struggled mightily last season, finishing the year 2-15 for the worst record in the league, and they would’ve had the first overall pick again in the Draft if they didn’t trade it to the Bears. Chicago selected USC’s Caleb Williams to be their hopeful quarterback of the future in the Windy City.
But Kiper believes the Panthers were way too hasty to get rid of everyone after Young’s season of 2,877 yards with 11 touchdowns to 10 interceptions and a 73.7 quarterback rating.
"You go into this year, and you change everything because C.J. Stroud’s doing so well in Houston," Kiper said. "‘We gotta destroy this thing. We gotta blow it up and start all over because C.J. Stroud’s doing so great in Houston. These coaches are getting it done.’ So, we bring in an offensive coach who was with Baker [Mayfield] and others, right? Bring in a new pass game coordinator, new quarterbacks coach for Bryce Young. Then, we don’t play him in the preseason! We play him one series in the final preseason game.
"I’ll give you a little note: C.J. Stroud played in two preseason games this year. Derek Carr played in two preseason games. Why? Because Klint Kubiak was coming in with a new offense, and Derek Carr’s a veteran and played in two preseason games.
"Bryce Young played one series in the final preseason game against the nobodies on the defense for the Buffalo Bills. Does that make sense to you that two games in we’re saying he can’t play?"
The book is certainly still out on Young, who is now 2-16 through 18 starts in his NFL career. It’s not the start he wants, and experts and fans alike are both saying he seems to have a total lack of confidence under center now — Kiper included.
"Yes, his confidence was shattered. Yes, he does need to sit behind Andy Dalton for a little bit. But to blame this on Bryce Young is ridiculous. The blame here goes to the organization, the owner for mishandling."
Young will take a backseat now to Dalton, a three-time Pro Bowler with the Cincinnati Bengals who can be learned from. Canales was brought in to turn things around in Carolina, and the coaching staff has clearly seen enough to let Young sit out and regroup with a veteran quarterback leading the way instead for now.
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