The difficulties that Carolina Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young encountered have been the subject of considerable discussion over the past few months.
After a season that was largely disappointing for all parties involved, veteran wide receiver Adam Thielen of the Carolina Panthers is confident that Young will develop.
“I think he really learned a lot about himself and adversity and how to deal with it,” Thielen said about Young during a chat with Ryan Gaydos of Fox News Digital. “I think it’s only going to benefit him in the long run. If you put the right people around him, from an organization perspective and players, I think the sky’s the limit for him, and I’m excited to see what he does.”
There is widespread speculation that Carolina’s decision to select Young with the first overall pick in November, as opposed to Houston Texans starting quarterback C.J. Stroud, contributed to the dismissal of head coach Frank Reich by Panthers owner David Tepper in late November. Tepper subsequently terminated general manager Scott Fitterer following Week 18, prior to Stroud, who was reportedly the presumptive Offensive Rookie of the Year, leading Houston to a resounding 45-14 victory over the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card playoffs over the weekend.
Young finished the regular season ranked 29th among qualified players in the league by ESPN with an adjusted QBR of 33.4, 34th with a passer rating of 73.7, and 33rd with a completion percentage of 59.8%. Young and the Panthers are plagued by concerns regarding his stature this winter, but Thielen remains confident that the 22-year-old will resolve the situation at the highest level.
“I think he grew a ton,” Thielen said about Young. “I think he grew as a person. I think he grew as a player. I think his maturity level really amped up throughout the year, and you could see it. I think he’s got a lot of tools, obviously, to be drafted first overall. And he’s got a lot of talent.”
If Young fails to meet expectations by this juncture of the following season, a coaching staff that did not select him may reconsider its approach to the most critical position in the sport prior to or during the 2025 NFL Draft.
Can we ever let the CJ Stoud debate go for gods sake????
It didn’t happen. Build Bryce up instead of tearing him down. The infrastructures (organization, coaches and players were not in place to even sniff success.