Panthers No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young has been widely lauded for his passing accuracy. But sneaky rushing upside could be key to his fantasy value. If you remove yardage lost on sacks -- which NCAA stats subtract from QB rushing -- Young averaged 6.1 yards per carry in 2021 and then 9.1 per rush last season. He totaled 284 yards and then 313 yards in scrambles in his two starting turns at Alabama, according to Pro Football Focus. Young followed that with a 4.58-second 40 time at his pro day. That would rank 90th-percentile among QB results at the Scouting Combine. Young will likely need to scramble at least a bit more in the NFL than he did at Alabama. He averaged just 2.56 attempts per game there over the past two years. Even the largely immobile crew of Colts QBs -- led by Matt Ryan -- on Frank Reich's last Colts team averaged 2.78 per game. The 280+ yards that Young delivered on scrambles the past two years would have ranked seventh among QBs in rushing yards in the NFL last season. That level of rushing production would boost his fantasy floor and ceiling. Read more about Young's fantasy outlook and see where he sits in our 2023 superflex rankings. The rookie could turn into a value pick in that format.
The Panthers fired GM Scott Fitterer on Monday. It’s not much of a surprise. Owner David Tepper fired HC Frank Reich after a 1-10 start, and the team proceeded to win only one more game. Overall, Carolina went 14-37 across three seasons with Fitterer as GM. A lack of progress from Bryce Young will make this job challenging for any incoming GM. Of course, the Panthers will also be without a Round 1 pick this year after trading up for Young. We’ll monitor potential HC/GM candidates in the coming weeks.
Coming off a season-high 312 passing yards on a season-high 8.7 yards per attempt in Week 16, Panthers QB Bryce Young crashed back to earth in the Week 17 shutout loss to the Jaguars. He completed 19 of 32 passes (59%) for 112 yards (3.5 YPA), 0 TDs, and one INT. That against a Jacksonville defense that entered the week 29th in passing yards allowed. It was Young's 10th game of the season with fewer than 200 passing yards; his ninth under 6.0 yards per pass attempt; and his seventh without a passing TD. It's been a worrisome rookie season for the first overall pick. He's had little help from his coaching staff, offensive line, or pass catchers. But he's also done very little to elevate the offense. Young will be buried in the 2024 redraft QB rankings. And he's closer to a sell-low than a buy in dynasty.
The Panthers fired HC Frank Reich. He didn't even make it a full season in Carolina, going 1-10 in his 11 games. An offensive-minded coach, Reich's Panthers offense sits 30th in yards per game, 29th in points per game, and 31st in offensive DVOA. A poor group of skill-position players didn't help the cause, but Reich did very little to elevate the offense or rookie QB Bryce Young. Special teams coordinator Chris Tabor will finish out the season as interim HC, while OC Thomas Brown takes back over as play-caller. We'll see if the moves lead to any changes in player usage, but don't expect the offense to be noticeably better.
Panthers QB Bryce Young completed 21 of 38 passes for 185 yards with no TDs or INTs in Week 10’s loss vs. the Bears. In some respects, the rookie was better on Thursday night than he did in Week 9. At least he didn’t throw 3 INTs, including 2 pick-sixes. Still, Young has failed to throw for over 250 passing yards in a game this season and should be nowhere near fantasy lineups in Week 11 vs. the Cowboys’ defense that ranks fourth in total defense DVOA.
Panthers QB Bryce Young had his best game of the season by many metrics in Week 8. He undoubtedly had his worst game of the season in Week 9. The rookie completed 24 of 39 passes (62%) for just 173 yards (4.4 YPA), one TD, and three INTs in a 27-13 loss to the Colts. Two of Young's INTs were returned for TDs by CB Kenny Moore. Young seemed to struggle to decipher Indianapolis' coverages all game. And the Panthers had nothing working downfield. Outside of TE Hayden Hurst's 48-yarder on a busted coverage, the team's longest completion went for just 11 yards. Up-and-down play is not a surprise for a rookie QB. But it'll make Young pretty much impossible to trust as a QB1 going forward.
Follow us on