Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young may finally have arrived as he sets out on his fourth year in the NFL.
Last week's regular-season debut against the Chicago Bears was the first strong opener of his career, as Young battled fellow No. 1 overall pick Caleb Williams in a wild shootout and held his own. While the Panthers lost by 22 points, you can hardly blame Young—who passed for 361 yards and scored four total touchdowns.
Going into Week 2, Williams is ranked second in NFL.com's starting quarterback rankings, trailing only former league MVP Josh Allen. Meanwhile, Young has begun the year ranked No. 10 on Nick Shook's list.
Shook writes:
A typically up-and-down quarterback, Young looked confident in his most aggressive game since he threw
for 448 yards in Carolina's Week 11 win over Atlanta last season. Most importantly, Young finally looked fully comfortable in Dave Canales' offense, made decisions with conviction and truly elevated Carolina's offense . . .
If Young continues to play like he did Week 1, the Panthers should be thrilled to hand him a lucrative new contract that could average north of $50 million per year. However, as Shook mentioned, the story of Young's career has been one of inconsistency from week to week.
The last time Young appeared to have finally figured things out was in last season's stunning upset win over the Los Angeles Rams, coming up clutch in a 31-28 win at home. But he'd bomb in the following game against the San Francisco 49ers in front of a national audience, tossing for a pair of picks while leading the offense to just nine points.
Young's production against Chicago would be tough for any quarterback to do on a regular basis. But, at the least, he has to avoid those sub-200 yard, multiple-turnover outings that have come too frequently in his career.
This week, Young will be in for more of a challenge. Although he has historically played very well against the Atlanta Falcons, their defense was surprisingly sharp last Sunday—posting the NFL's second-best EPA of Week 1 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Follow @ThePanthersWire on Twitter/X for more Panthers content.
This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers' Bryce Young ranked as top-10 QB heading into Week 2
