The Carolina Panthers butchered Bryce Young's development from Day 1

There is a ton on Young's side of responsibility too, but he was given no chance.

Sep 15, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks to pass in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

The Carolina Panthers sent shockwaves through the NFL when they announced the benching of quarterback Bryce Young less than two years after using the top pick in the NFL Draft on him.

Let me rephrase: the Panthers benched Young after mortgaging their entire future on him.

The Panthers gave up their Pro Bowl wide receiver D.J. Moore, two first round picks (in 2023 and 2024), two second round picks, and a fourth round pick in exchange for the right to draft Young with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

For the Bears thus far, those picks have turned into the 2024 NFL Draft first overall pick (quarterback Caleb Williams), 2023 ninth overall pick (the Bears traded down one slot and selected offensive tackle Darnell Wright), cornerback Tyrique Stevenson, and punter Tory Taylor thus far. They still have a second round pick left from this haul to use in the 2025 NFL Draft.

So who is to blame?

The hosts of the Daft on Draft Podcast, Cory Kinnan (me) and Dalton Miller discuss this. Miller leaves a strong distaste for the way that Carolina handled Young's development on the table:

"Where I thought the Carolina Panthers really screwed up was they had the veteran in place, who was the better football player at the time, and could have won you football games. And they sat him and they played Bryce Young in a horrific situation... When you have a rookie in a terrible situation in front of him, one that has a veteran backup who can still play in the NFL... bench him as a rookie, start the veteran, and let him come along at his own rate."

- Dalton Miller, Daft on Draft Podcast

.@daltonbmiller had some strong words for how the Panthers handled the Bryce Young situation from the beginning (with some praise for the Patriots sprinkled in!) https://t.co/uRnYw09FJT pic.twitter.com/EYckrDYBeU

— Daft on Draft Podcast (@DaftonDraft) September 17, 2024

Both Miller and I discussed that this is not to absolve Young of all guilt in this situation. There are a ton of physical gifts that Young does not possess. He cannot drive the football into NFL windows, does not have the lower half tools to evade defenders the way he could at the college level, and the NFL is correct in their methods of body-typing quarterbacks.

However, Young also did not ask to be selected with the first overall pick. His development (or lack thereof) falls squarely on the shoulders of the Panthers. And for as bad as Young has been, they have to own that as well.

They also now have to try to pick up the pieces with no future assets to do so.

You can hear the full episode of the Daft on Draft Podcast on Apple, Spotify, or watch on YouTube.

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