It's easy to forget now, but Bryce Young's run as the Carolina Panthers' starting quarterback could have come to an end two years ago. Young was atrocious in his first two starts to begin the 2024 season, with numbers approaching Jimmy Clausen territory in two lopsided losses.
Having no other choice, head coach Dave Canales benched Young in favor of veteran Andy Dalton. Six weeks later, Dalton suffered a thumb injury in a minor car accident, offering Young a second chance to prove that he belongs at this level.
Young spent the rest of the 2024 season building up his confidence, performing better every week and finishing the season on a high note. Last year, Young reached new highs—although they were few and far between.
Now, two games into the
2026 campaign, he appears to finally have things figured out—and is now living up to his potential as a No. 1 overall pick.
In Week 1, Young dropped 361 yards and four total touchdowns against the Chicago Bears in a shootout the Panthers ultimately lost, 59-37. Today, he followed that up with another strong outing against the Atlanta Falcons, racking up 287 passing yards and three touchdowns with no picks in a dominant 34-3 win.
This marks the first time that Young has had two truly impressive games in a row, both to begin the season, and in general, during his NFL career. In total, he's completed 46 of his 73 passes (63.0 percent) for 648 yards with seven total touchdowns and just one interception.
Stats only tell part of the story, though. What really matters is that Young looks like a completely different quarterback than the one we saw failing early in 2024.
His footwork is radically improved, for one. In the pocket, Young is calm, confident, decisive and aggressive. He takes what the defense gives him but also pushes the ball downfield. While he's not Lamar Jackson, Young is also using his legs when he needs to, and no more than that.
Young will need to continue playing well for at least one more game, or against one respectable defense, before we're ready to say that he has officially arrived. But right now, he looks like he's finally ready to assume the role of Carolina's official franchise quarterback.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers QB Bryce Young may finally be arriving at his full potential
