Panthers PFF grades: Starting guards get strong grades, Bryce Young bombs in Week 1

Left guard Damien Lewis and right guard Robert Hunt both got a bag this offseason, and both came through Week 1 even if nobody else did.

Jul 30, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers guard Damien Lewis (68) and offensive tackle Ricky Lee (61) drill during training camp at Carolina Panthers Practice Fields. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

If you're desperately searching for a silver lining coming out of the Carolina Panthers' embarrassing Week 1 loss to the New Orleans Saints, we finally found one. This offseason the team's two big-ticket items in free agency were starting right guard Robert Hunt and starting left guard Damien Lewis. Together, their contracts total over $70 million in guaranteed money, so expectations are high.

Good news: while the rest of the team may have crashed and burned around them, Carolina's two new starting guards actually had a pretty strong start to the season. Here are their Week 1 Pro Football Focus grades.

LG Damien Lewis: 80.0 overall

The highest grade on the team this week from PFF went to Lewis, who posted an 80.0 overall rating. PFF gave Lewis high marks for his pass blocking (84.9) as well as his run blocking (74.1). While it's only one game, this is a pretty significant improvement over what he typically got from PFF over the last few years with the Seattle Seahawks. His highest grade for a year to date was the 72.5 overall mark in the 2022 season.

RG Robert Hunt: 79.5 overall

Tight end Feleipe Franks got the second-highest grade on offense this week, but since he was only on the field for four snaps we'll give the silver medal to Hunt. He posted very similar grades compared to Lewis, earning a 79.5 overall with 84.9 in pass blocking and 78.5 in run blocking. Hunt's PFF grades have improved every year he's been in the league, rising from 66.0 as a rookie to 67.4, then 72.3, then 76.4 last season.

Unfortunately the rest of the roster was in bad shape, both on film and in PFF's grading. If it looked like quarterback Bryce Young was the worst player on the field, you were pretty close to bullseye.

QB Bryce Young: 32.6 overall

From the opening moments it was clear that Bryce Young was rattled by the pressure that the New Orleans Saints brought, even though the offensive line did a pretty good job of containing it. Young threw two gruesome interceptions and only managed 161 total yards through the air on his way to a 32.8 passer rating and a QBR of 10.7. For PFF's part they graded him out at 34.7 as a passer.

On defense, Shy Tuttle (29.5 overall) and Jordan Fuller (28.0) graded out lower than Young, but nobody else did this week.

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