Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young had experienced a tough start to life in the NFL after he struggled to impress in Frank Reich's side.
Young's College Career
Bryce Young was seen as a five-star dual-threat prospect coming out of Mater Dei High School in California. This led to him receiving two huge college football offers. He was offered a place at the University of South California and the University of Alabama. Subsequently, he decided to join Alabama Crimson Tide's prestigious college football programme.
The quarterback finally grasped the starting quarterback spot following Mac Jones' tenure in that position.
Young lit the field up whilst wearing the famous Crimson uniform as he harvested a 23-4 win streak in the two campaigns, playing the commanding role of the starting QB.
Whilst under the watchful eye of iconic Head Coach Nick Saban, Young recorded over 8300 yards and 80 passing touchdowns whilst capturing the attention of many NFL scouts across the country.
His excellent performances in his sophomore year at 'Bama saw the quarterback lead his team to an SEC Championship title whilst tallying 4872 passing yards, 47 passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns.
His hard work and fabulous efforts in leading the Crimson Tide on the field in 2021 were rewarded as he collected the highest College football honour.
Bryce Young's name was engraved in bold white writing onto the prestigious golden plaque of the Heisman Trophy.
His Best Quality
Young built himself a reputation for being able to command and effectively utilise both the passing and running game as a quarterback, which translated into a fantastic winning record.
However, there was one quality of Young that really wowed NFL scouts and ultimately helped him craft a superb college football career.
This quality was his rapid cognitive processing speed.
His quick thinking on the field, combined with his high-level football intelligence, helped him to make split decisions in seconds.
This is a key aspect for any quarterback who aims to play at the highest level. They must read opposing defences and decide which receiver is the best to target.
Young displayed his elite processing speed regularly throughout his time in college, which ultimately secured his spot as one of the most promising quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft class.
Biggest Weakness
There is one obvious physical weakness of Young's game, which made some NFL teams cast some doubts over his future in the NFL.
The quarterback is very small when compared to many other players in that position who play at the top level.
Coming out of college, Young measured 5-foot-10-inches, which is a short size for the average quarterback. On the other hand, short quarterbacks can succeed in the NFL as proven by the likes of Drew Brees and Russell Wilson.
However, Young was also very small in weight as he only weighed in at 204 pounds.
Weighing at only 204 pounds cast a lot of doubts in the minds of NFL scouts as it would make him more vulnerable to huge hits from massive linebackers, which could lead to devastating injuries.
NFL Draft 2023
It was April 2023, the time had finally come around, the stage was set and ready in Kansas City for what was surely one of Young's biggest nights of his life.
The Carolina Panthers had ownership of the first pick of the draft after they struck a huge blockbuster trade with the Chicago Bears, in a bid to secure their franchise quarterback.
Unlike some draft processes, no player was guaranteed to be taken first as the Panthers flirted with both Young and Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.
However, an overwhelming sense of pride and relief would have possessed him as the NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell read his name out as the brand new Carolina Panthers quarterback.
Young etched his name into college football history books that night as he became the second-ever No.1 NFL pick to come out of Alabama's football program and the first one since 1948.
NFL Debut Season Struggles
Despite displaying his incredible talent in college, Young struggled to translate that into his game in the NFL, following an abysmal debut campaign.
Overall, Carolina struggled to gain any sort of momentum last season after only picking up two wins.
Their poor form and struggling system on the field saw former Head Coach Frank Reich be given his marching orders, leaving Special Teams Coordinator Chris Tabor to try and pick up the pieces.
Young struggled to make an impact on his side as he could only collate 2877 passing yards, 11 passing touchdowns and a completion rate of 59.8%. Moreover, he recorded 10 interceptions and was sacked a whopping total of 62 times, proving that he suffered from protection issues from his offensive line.
Despite a very disappointing debut season, the quarterback did show flashes of potential that he could prove to be a great NFL player.
One game he shone in was the Panthers' 33-30 loss against the Green Bay Packers.
In that matchup, Young passed for 312 yards, scored two touchdowns and completed 23 of 36 attempts.
Next Season Outlook
Following a lacklustre season, there will be more pressure and expectations on Young's shoulders to improve his game and show that he is the right man to lead the Carolina Panthers franchise.
To help guide him to a more upbeat campaign is brand new coaching personnel.
The introduction of Head Coach Dave Canales and Offensive Coordinator Brad Idzik will likely focus on a run-oriented system, which will surely take some of that pressure off their quarterback and let him focus on thriving at his own pace.
Either way, Young will be hungry to silence his doubters in his second year in the NFL.
It will be a test of his mental strength as well as his physical strength.
Will he unleash that 'dawg' mentality within him that we saw throughout his prestigious college career with the Crimson Tide?
Hopefully this time, he will receive better support from his offensive linemen and his receiving core, who left him out to dry last term.
