"You can't play QB much better," NFL insider has high praise for Bryce Young

People were quick to give up on Bryce Young after just 18 starts with the Carolina Panthers, particularly after he was benched in favor of Andy Dalton last season. As it turned out, that benching was perhaps the best thing for the former Alabama Heisman Trophy-winning QB.

When Young got a second chance due to a Dalton injury, he made the most of it, looking like a completely different quarterback over the second half of last season. He looked more like "Alabama Bryce" instead of the version the NFL had seen of the 2023 No. 1 overall pick.

He got better and better as the season wore on, saving his best for last. In the final three games of the 2024 season, Young led the Panthers to a 2-1 record with 10 total touchdowns and no turnovers. He finished the year with a five-touchdown performance in Carolina's overtime win over the Atlanta Falcons.

His performance down the stretch led to optimism that Young can be the franchise QB the Panthers hoped he would be when they traded up to select him first overall two years ago. In Carolina's first preseason game of the 2025 season on Friday night, Young, albeit in a small sample size, reaffirmed that faith, earning praise from NFL insider Jordan Schultz:

Bryce Young looked sharp in Carolina's first preseason game

Young played two drives on Friday night in Carolina's 30-10 loss to the Browns. He completed 4-of-6 passes for 58 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown pass to Jake Coker was vintage Young. Alabama fans saw that time and time again during his career in Tuscaloosa. He felt pressure, escaped the pocket rolling to his right, directed Coker to come back inside, and then fired a strike to the endzone for a touchdown.

That was the second eye-opening throw of the night for Young. The first was even more promising, not just for the fact that it was a dime, but for who it was to.

The Panthers spent the 8th overall pick in the 2025 draft on Arizona WR Tetairoa McMillan to give Young a legitimate No. 1 WR. That move looks like it's going to produce immediate results, and the duo appears to have instant chemistry.

Young and McMillan should be one of the top young duos in the NFL in 2025, building a rapport to become one of the most feared duos in the league.

It's just preseason, but Young's performance in limited action continues to show that he's trending up.