Heading into the 2026 season, Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young was ranked where he has been most of his NFL career—somewhere between the 25th and 29th best starter in the league. So, this was a major crossroads kind of year coming in—and thus far, Young has aced just about every test with flying colors.
While Young has had better games statistically speaking, last week's performance against the Detroit Lions was the best of his career going by the eyeball test. His command and decision-making were flawless in the face of an obscene amount of pressure.
And now, Young is getting a big boost in NFL.com's quarterback rankings. He's up 12 spots from last week, coming in at No. 9 on the list.
Nick Shook writes:
After a rough Week 3, Bryce Young
returned to form in Week 4, dicing up Detroit’s defense by focusing heavily on throws in the middle third of the field and feasting, even without Jalen Coker. He leads the NFL in passing yards through four weeks and deserves your weekly attention. I can say similar things about C.J. Stroud, who is no longer the problem in Houston.
The only non-excellent start Young has had this season was the loss to Cleveland in Week 3. While he didn't perform well, it wouldn't be fair to put much blame on him given his poor protection and absence of his No. 2 and No. 3 wideouts.
In Young's other three starts, he's been nothing less than brilliant—making the right choices in quick fashion. His processing has largely neutralized what has been the worst pressure rate for any quarterback in the league this year.
Young entered Week 5 with a league-leading 1,268 passing yards along with 10 total touchdowns and two interceptions.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers' Bryce Young leaps up NFL QB rankings
