The Carolina Panthers traded up in the 2023 NFL Draft and gave up a fortune to draft Bryce Young with the first overall pick. At the time, the pick made sense, as the Alabama quarterback had immense success in college, and despite concerns about his physique, was viewed as the best quarterback in his draft class.
The decision to draft Young started to look like one of the biggest mistakes in NFL history when he struggled throughout his rookie season. Moreover, C.J. Stroud, who was drafted with the second overall pick, had one of the best rookie seasons in league history, leading to even more criticism of the Panthers for bypassing him.
Young was benched early in his second season, and many thought his career with the Panthers was over. However, the 23-year-old quarterback proved everyone wrong and bounced back later in the season to cement his place as the franchise quarterback in Carolina.
Bryce Young Discusses Facing Adversity for the First Time in Football Career
In a recent appearance on FS1’s “The Facility,” Young was asked by Emmanuel Acho and James Jones about how he handled getting benched after Week 2 in his second season in the league. The Panthers star stressed the importance of God in his life and explained how the experience has made him a better person.
“I’m a big believer that God doesn’t make mistakes,” Young said. “I trust in him, and everything that’s happened, that’s going to happen, and again, for me, it was just I was able to experience something new, just about myself. And, you know, I don’t know if it’s something that went to the field or not, it was something that, just, through my process and through myself, I was able to grow.”
.@_bryce_young details his growth from his 1st half benching: pic.twitter.com/WPcB51pAQr
— The Facility (@TheFacilityFS1) February 7, 2025
Young talked about how he’d never faced a similar situation. The quarterback mentioned that during his high school and college career, he always had a grasp of what could happen next, but the situation with the Panthers left him without any answers about what the future could hold.
“This was really the first time that I didn’t know how things were going to play out,” Young added. “I didn’t know what it was going to look like. I didn’t know anything. And I’m a man of faith, and for me, that’s just not something I’ve always trusted God. But honestly, I’ve never like I said I never had to, but when it comes to football, and specifically, it’s not something I had to do. I was never really in that backs against the wall position.”
“I’m super grateful God put me in that position to be able to experience that,” the Panthers star continued. “You know, I definitely feel like I grew as a man of faith, grew as a man just in general, with experience in that. And I’m grateful.”
Before getting benched after Week 2 of the 2024 NFL season, Young had started 18 games and had thrown for 3,122 yards, 11 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions, completing 59.3% of his throws with a passer rating of 70.9.
In 10 games after regaining the starting job, Young threw for 2,104 yards, 15 touchdowns, and six interceptions, completing 61.8% of his throws with a passer rating of 88.9. Young also finished with a No. 28 ranking (67.8) and D+ grade in PFN’s QB+ rating, which while still underscoring he plenty of room for improvement, was better than those of Jameis Winston, Trevor Lawrence, and rookie first overall pick Caleb Williams.
Although the Panthers finished the season with a record of 5-13, Carolina has a lot of faith in its football team. Young’s strong finish to the campaign allows the franchise to build on what they achieved last season, and the quarterback is expected to take the next step with better players around him in 2025.
The Panthers play in one of the weakest divisions in football, so it wouldn’t be entirely surprising if Young leads his team to a division title next season. Head coach Dave Canales helped Young take a sizable leap in his first season working with the second-year signal-caller and now has a chance to help the quarterback reach his full potential and become the star some thought he could be coming out of college.