NFL Power Rankings: Going forward, Bryce Young isn’t giving the Panthers any cause for hope.
The Carolina Panthers called the right play late in the first half Sunday. Jonathan Mingo ran a post route and was wide open for what would have been a touchdown.
And Bryce Young absolutely missed him. He overthrew him even as Mingo was as open as a receiver can be in that situation. The pass wasn’t close either. If there’s one play to sum up Young’s rookie season, that was it.
The stat line for Young that flashed on the bottom lines of the other NFL games — it’s not like much of the country was watching the one-win Panthers take on the New Orleans Saints — was hard to ignore. At halftime, Young completed 3 of 15 passes for 29 yards with a lost fumble. The Saints don’t have a bad pass defense, but it isn’t frightening many opponents. It crushed Young in a 28-6 Panthers loss, dropping Carolina to 1-12 this season.
There have been many low points in this horrific Panthers season. Head coach Frank Reich was fired before his first season was done. Team owner David Tepper continues to draw attention for his impulsive decisions. But the worst news is the Panthers’ blockbuster trade in March to get Young continues to look like a complete miss. If Young doesn’t turn things around, it could be a long-term problem given what the Panthers gave up.
The Panthers traded the ninth overall draft pick and a late second-round pick this year, a 2024 first-round pick and a 2025 second-round pick, along with receiver DJ Moore, for the top pick to get Young. The ninth pick (which the Bears traded to the Eagles) ended up being NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year favorite Jalen Carter. Moore has been very good with the Chicago Bears and scored twice Sunday. The Panthers’ 2024 first-round pick is almost surely going to be first overall, with a pair of elite QB prospects in Caleb Williams and Drake Maye potentially in the class, and the Panthers don’t even own the pick. And, of course, the Panthers passed on C.J. Stroud, who is having a historic rookie season, to take Young.
