Even Bryce Young may not be able to handle the melding of the Carolina Panthers’ new and intricate offense.
According to CBS Sports lead NFL insider Jonathan Jones, the Panthers are looking to simplify things for their extremely bright, but perhaps extremely overwhelmed rookie quarterback. He writes on Sunday morning:
Buy Panthers TicketsBut the Carolina Panthers are realizing that some swords are double-edged. For as bright as Young is, sources say he could be getting an overload of information from too many sources. That has resulted in uncharacteristic mistakes from the former Heisman winner, and it’s helped contribute to a sputtering offense.
That sputtering offense, which has averaged just 250.7 yards per game under their No. 1 overall pick, is also a complicated and multi-pronged one. The hirings of offensive coordinator Thomas Brown and head coach Frank Reich, who has been rather protective of the team’s play-calling duties, have resulted in a fusion of two complex offenses—Reich’s from his time in Indianapolis and Brown’s from his time under Sean McVay in Los Angeles.
Along with the underwhelming numbers, the offense has also generated some troubling lapses. The unit has struggled with clock management, gaining separation on receiving routes and—perhaps chief amongst the issues—relaying play calls in a timely manner.
What separated Young from his peers in the spring and really sold him to Carolina were his maturity and his mental capacity. The former Heisman winner’s advanced capabilities to process and react to the game made him the most appealing draft option for a franchise looking to quickly kickstart their fortunes.
But, it seems as though there’s a bit of a system overload for the 22-year-old—who, albeit a considerably intelligent one, is still a rookie.
