There’s little doubt that Bryce Young has had a hot start to the season.
The fourth-year quarterback has grown leaps and bounds in his fourth season, leading the NFL in passing with nine touchdowns against two interceptions with 1,268 passing yards, a 100.0 passer rating and 12.6 yards per completion. By comparison, he had 23 touchdowns against 11 interceptions for an 87.8 passer rating and 9.9 yards per completion last season.
The Panthers are off to a 2-2 start, but they’re coming off of an electrifying upset win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football, their first home game on the broadcast in a decade. Furthermore, the offense ranks fourth in the NFL in scoring with 30.3 points per game.
Jonathan Stewart, who was a part of that team and is the Panthers’ all-time leading rusher, is high on Young. He said that the 25-year-old quarterback has not only established himself as the long-term franchise quarterback, his play style compares favorably to that of five-time league MVP Peyton Manning.
Manning is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks ever, holding multiple passing records such as most passing touchdowns in a single season. But it’s an eye-popping one considering Manning is 6-foot-5 while Young stands at 5-foot-10. However, Stewart’s main point is that both have similar presences in the pocket.
“There’s really no comparison in my my opinion, man,” Stewart said. “He’s one of one, and and in a lot of ways, the poise that he carries, I’ve never seen it. Like the way he does it, I would maybe say Peyton Manning-ish. But the stature, the size, it’s just massively different, and I think he’s got a different wiggle to him too. Like in the pocket, he has this craftiness to him that you kind of can get to him, but not fully.”
Jonathan Stewart Also Compares Bryce Young to Dennis Dixon
Stewart pauses before thinking of another player comparison for Young. He then compares him to Dennis Dixon, who was his former quarterback with the Oregon Ducks in college. The 6-foot-3 Dixon was a highly prolific collegiate passer who won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year while leading the Ducks to a ranking of No. 2 in the BCS rankings.
Dixon would go on to spent several years with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a backup quarterback, winning a Super Bowl during his pro career.
“But the way he does maneuver in the pocket, there was a guy named Dennis Dixon that I played with, and there was times where Dennis and how he moved in the pocket was just kind of very finesse and just very aura driven,” Stewart added. “It’s smooth, just very smooth. I think Bryce is is a different different type of quarterback.”
Jonathan Stewart Calls Bryce Young ‘One of One’
There’s obviously plenty of time left in the NFL season as we’re only a quarter through the year. Young will have to show that he can maintain this level of play, but the fact that the Panthers are the reigning division champions shows a long body of work dating back to last season.
Stewart was a member of the Panthers’ most recent Super Bowl team in 2015. He goes so far as to say that Young is “one of one” just like former NFL MVP Cam Newton.
“Bryce is a different type of quarterback, and Carolina’s had two of them,” said Stewart. “Cam Newton was one of one. I think Bryce Young is one of one.”
Panthers Great Compares Bryce Young to Record-Setting QB Amid Hot Start