Sports Illustrated's Bold Prediction for the Carolina Panthers in 2024

Is a bounce-back year coming for Bryce Young?

Much of the offseason in Carolina will be about Dave Canales, the new coaching staff, and how in the world the Panthers plan to put enough pieces around quarterback Bryce Young to be successful in 2024. 

That last part is crucial. The pass protection was a serious issue all season long for the rookie, who was sacked a total of 62 times. To make matters worse, the pass catchers rarely created separation and when they did, yards after the catch were hard to come by. 

A large part of fellow rookie C.J. Stroud's success in Houston had to do with the supporting cast. Don't get me wrong, he made plays too and impressive ones at that, but he had an o-line and receiving corps that gave him a chance. The same can't be said for Bryce in Carolina.

Conor Orr of Sports Illustrated recently published an article that lists one bold prediction for each NFL team in 2024. His projection for the Panthers?

Bryce Young outplays the 2024 rookie class in a bounce-back campaign.

"So, I debated suggesting that Young would outplay C.J. Stroud, but the problem is one of existing talent infrastructure. I do think a Stroud dip could come at some point, especially if offensive coordinator Bobby Slowik gets a head coaching job next year after interviewing really well on the circuit during this cycle. All that said, I wanted a way to get into my prediction that the Panthers will look far different offensively this year and lightyears better in terms of efficiency. We will finally see an offense designed for Young, by a play-caller who has already made life so much better for the likes of Baker Mayfield and Russell Wilson."

I don't know that I would quite call it a bold prediction, considering Young would have a full year of experience over guys like Caleb Williams, Drake Maye, Jayden Daniels, and so on. However, those quarterbacks could be drafted to much better situations giving them a chance to be successful right out of the gate. Plus, there's no guarantee that the Panthers' supporting cast will be a huge improvement from a year ago. If they are able to get the right guys in the building, we should see the former No. 1 overall pick begin to look like the franchise quarterback they thought they would get when they took him in the draft a year ago.

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