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Despite not even being a member of the Carolina Panthers for a full month, Bryce Young is already earning the respect of his coaches.
Speaking to the media earlier this week, Carolina Panthers head coach Frank Reich said that Young’s “command” on the first day of offseason OTAs was “10/10”, which is certainly high praise for the rookie signal-caller.
“Just complete command, control, poise… 10 out of 10. You could tell the way he was seeing it, the way he was working through progressions, accuracy in the throw, ball placement of the throw, it was all very good,” Reich said.
“It’s really good for Bryce to kind of see Andy handle things the way he’s handled things. And, obviously, Bryce has picked it up extremely fast. But it feels like we’ve got a good plan and we’re doing the right thing,” he continued.
The Panther selected Young with the #1 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft — a pick they acquired in a trade with the Chicago Bears — following three seasons at the University of Alabama that saw him win a Heisman Trophy and a National Championship.
Heading into the 2023 season, Young is expected to help turn around a Carolina Panthers team that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season. Given how wide open the NFC South appears to be — each of the four teams in the division has a new starting quarterback — there are some NFL analysts that believe the Panthers could win the division if Young lives up to his potential.
Currently, the bookies think that the New Orleans Saints, who signed Pro Bowl quarterback Derek Carr, are the favorites to win the NFC South, with betting odds at around +135. Following the Saints are the Atlanta Falcons with odds of around +250. Then comes the Panthers with odds of +350ish, and finally the Bucs in fourth with odds of +600.