Young appears primed to benefit from improved surroundings on offense Year 2, with the Panthers adding names like wide receiver Diontae Johnson and guard Robert Hunt in free agency, David Newton of ESPN reports. Young is coming off a completely forgettable rookie campaign, having completed just 315 of 527 pass attempts for 2,877 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions across 16 regular-season games. He surpassed 200 yards in just five of those contests. A real part of the blame must fall on Carolina's mediocre offensive personnel and scheme, and things already appear to be improving under new head coach Dave Canales. Trading for Diontae Johnson provides Young with a versatile and trustworthy No. 1 target, after a rookie year in which his only reliable wideout was a 33-year-old Adam Thielen. Inking Hunt to a massive-five year deal ought to provide Young, who was second in the league last season with 62 sacks, with more reliable protection for the foreseeable future, and the signing of Damien Lewis to a four-year deal locks up both guard positions. Expect the Panthers to do more to help Young in April's draft, where they will first pick in the second round at No. 33 overall.
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Young appears primed to benefit from improved surroundings on offense Year 2, with the Panthers adding names like wide receiver Diontae Johnson and guard Robert Hunt in free agency, David Newton of ESPN reports. Young is coming off a completely forgettable rookie campaign, having completed just 315 of 527 pass attempts for 2,877 yards, 10 touchdowns and 11 interceptions across 16 regular-season games. He surpassed 200 yards in just five of those contests. A real part of the blame must fall on Carolina's mediocre offensive personnel and scheme, and things already appear to be improving under new head coach Dave Canales. Trading for Diontae Johnson provides Young with a versatile and trustworthy No. 1 target, after a rookie year in which his only reliable wideout was a 33-year-old Adam Thielen. Inking Hunt to a massive-five year deal ought to provide Young, who was second in the league last season with 62 sacks, with more reliable protection for the foreseeable future, and the signing of Damien Lewis to a four-year deal locks up both guard positions. Expect the Panthers to do more to help Young in April's draft, where they will first pick in the second round at No. 33 overall.
While three picks were bad enough, the fact that two of them were returned for touchdowns by Kenny Moore -- one for 49 yards in the second quarter and the second for 66 yards in the fourth -- ensured the Panthers had no hope of mounting a comeback. Young continues to experience significant growing pains as a rookie, and he's tossed multiple TDs only once in his first seven NFL starts while being intercepted multiple times on three occasions, leaving him with an 8:7 TD:INT. Joe Person of The Athletic reports that coach Frank Reich has given no thought to benching Young for veteran Andy Dalton, and a switch under center would be even trickier to manage on a short week as the Panthers begin preparations for a Thursday night matchup with the Bears in Week 10.
Matched up against C.J. Stroud, the player taken immediately after him in the 2023 NFL Draft, Young came out on top in a tight defensive battle to get his first win as a pro. The Alabama product's 7.6 YPA was his best mark of the season, and Young's 40-yard completion to Jonathan Mingo on Carolina's first drive of the second half was the longest of both rookies' careers. With his numbers slowly improving, Young could have value outside of two-QB formats in Week 9 against a Colts team that has been involved in high-scoring games in three straight weeks, including a 38-27 loss to the Saints on Sunday.