Bryce Young had the starting job in Charlotte as soon as his name was announced to kick off the 2023 NFL draft. But the Carolina Panthers couldn’t let him know that.
But now, they have—moving the No. 1 overall pick into the No. 1 spot on the depth chart prior to mandatory minicamp. After about three weeks of taking reps behind veteran Andy Dalton, Young was shifted into the starting offense for the remainder of spring practices.
And for that, former Panthers beat writer and current CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones praised head coach Frank Reich and his staff—recently opining that their decision was one that had to be made when they made it. Jones writes:
Kudos to the Carolina Panthers for not fooling around with rookie quarterback Bryce Young. Yes, everyone has to earn their spot. But this league is too hard and the learning curve is too steep to play games with the signal-caller you traded up to No. 1 for hoping to resurrect your franchise. Get him the No. 1 reps early and often. “Throw him in the fire!” is how one source put it to me recently. Frank Reich’s Panthers are going the opposite route of Urban Meyer and his decision to split reps between Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Minshew.
Young has since won over his coaches and teammates, seemingly receiving rave reviews throughout all corners of the locker room. Even outside linebacker Brian Burns, who jokingly didn’t want to give the rookie his props, told reporters that Young has a . . . um . . . pretty special swagger about him.
Oh, and it’s always a good thing when you do the opposite of whatever Urban Meyer did in the NFL.
