Bryce Young won't share what he told Caleb Williams after top pick's breakout game vs. Panthers

Carolina Panthers quarterback BryceYoung knows the kind of pressure that Caleb Williams is facing.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - OCTOBER 06: Bryce Young #9 of the Carolina Panthers and Caleb Williams #18 of the Chicago Bears embrace after the game at Soldier Field on October 06, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. / (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

The last two number one overall draft picks in the NFL met on the field following yesterday's game between the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears. Only one of them got to start, though - while the other was forced to watch from the sidelines until the fourth quarter when the end result had already been decided.

The latter would be Bryce Young, who did look pretty sharp in the one drive he got near the end of the game against a tough Bears defense. However, Caleb Williams had a much better outing, posting the best line by far of his NFL career to date. Williams torched a hopeless Carolina defense for over 300 passing yards, two touchdowns, 10.5 yards per attempt and a 126.2 passer rating, 20 points higher than his previous best.

Young and Williams embraced on the field after the game and spoke briefly. While he wouldn't share what he told Williams, Young had this to say about Chicago's number one overall pick, according to Joe Person at The Athletic.

Bryce Young on Caleb Williams

“I’ve known Caleb for a while. Great dude, someone I have a ton of respect for, will always be rooting for... I’ll keep what we said private. But I’m super-excited for him, for his future. He’s a great player.”

Young is a classy young man with a high amount of character. Sadly, that doesn't qualify him to win football games, especially not at the highest level of the sport.

Williams' breakout game against the Panthers is also a reminder that Young has yet to do the same thing. The closest Young has come was a 321-yard, two-touchdown, zero-interception game against the Green Bay Packers in December of 2023, but it was still a 33-30 loss for the Panthers.

While it's not always fair to pin a team's record on a quarterback, winning games is ultimately all that really matters for an NFL starter, and until Carolina starts doing that consistently with Young under center there's not much hope for this franchise.

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