There’s no way to sugarcoat it, the Panthers were abysmal in 2023. Carolina finished 2-15, the worst record in the NFL. To make matters worse, their 2024 first-round pick belonged to the Chicago Bears. The Panthers made a trade with the Bears ahead of the 2023 draft to get the first overall pick that belonged to Chicago. In exchange, they got the Panthers’ 2023 first-round pick, which happened to be the #1 pick in the draft.
Carolina drafted Bryce Young first overall in 2023 and he had a disastrous rookie season. Additionally, one pick after Young the Texans selected QB C.J. Stroud who had an eclectic rookie season and won Offensive ROY. Despite all the negatives from last season, the team is still invested in making it work with Bryce Young. This offseason, they hired former Bucs offensive coordinator Dave Canales to be their new head coach. One of his main objectives is to help mold Young into an NFL QB. The second-year pro will make his first start under Canales this Saturday when the Panthers face the Bills.
Bryce Young will start the final preseason game for the Panthers on Saturday
The #Panthers are planning to play Bryce Young and other starters in Saturday’s preseason finale vs. the Buffalo Bills.
Will be Bryce Young’s first game-action under new HC Dave Canales. pic.twitter.com/EQbGxITgHI
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) August 22, 2024
In his rookie season, Bryce Young started in 16 of the Panthers’ 17 games. He was 2-15 in his starts and went winless for his first six games. Young completed 59.8% of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions. The 23-year-old added 39 carries for 253 rushing yards. In two seasons as a starter at Alabama in college, Bryce Young threw for 47 touchdowns in 2021 and 32 touchdowns in 2022. Carolina is hoping they can tap back into the potential they saw in the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner. However, Young is not playing with the same type of explosive talent he saw at Alabama.
The Panthers have tried to add pieces on offense for their franchise QB to work with. Last season, Adam Thielen led all WRs on the team with 103 receptions for 1,014 yards. This offseason, the team traded with the Steelers for WR Diontae Johnson. He was Pittsburgh’s most experienced WR and should be another veteran player for Young to build chemistry with. With the 32nd pick in the 2024 NFL draft, the Panthers drafted WR Xavier Legette out of South Carolina. Legette had 1,255 receiving yards and seven touchdowns last season. Can head coach Dave Canales put Bryce Young in a position to succeed in year two after a terrible rookie season?
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