Since we can never have enough ways to evaluate quarterback play—this year, we have a new one courtesy of Austin Mock at The Athletic.
For the 2026 NFL season, he's introduced the QB Index, which currently has San Francisco's Brock Purdy on top at 139 going into Week 5. Two-time Most Valuable Player Lamar Jackson ranks second at 134 and Detroit's Jared Goff ranks third at 123.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young is high on the list, coming in at No. 7 with a score of 115. That puts him just one point lower than Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence and one point ahead of Kansas City superstar Patrick Mahomes.
This week's index features a short profile on what Young is doing so well, including an explainer on his misleading success rate:
Young has
the eighth-best EPA per dropback but ranks only 18th in success rate. That latter stat is slightly misleading, though. His success rate "failures" can largely be attributed to the fact that he has faced the most pressure (47.4 percent) of any qualified quarterback . . . So, when you see Young's pressure-to-sack rate is ninth-best in the NFL, you can see why QBI is so fond of him. He's been great at mitigating pressure. He's actually PFF's sixth-highest-graded QB when under pressure.
There's more to playing the position than throwing well under the pressure, but it's also the most difficult thing that a pro quarterback can do. That Young is performing so well in this department bodes very well for his future in this league—as he, entering Week 5, leads the league in passing yards under pressure (411) and passing touchdowns under pressure (four).
Some of the credit has to go to offensive coordinator Brad Idzik, who's helped set Young up for success by offering quick answers to those quick pressures he's seeing so much. Still, Young is the one who has to get the ball out in less than half a second a lot of the time, and he's the one who's on his way to a massive payday as a result.
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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: NFL analyst identifies what Panthers QB Bryce Young is doing best
