Why Bryce Young's About to Make A Massive Year-Four Leap for Panthers

The Carolina Panthers have been trying to help Bryce Young become the quarterback they envisioned when they drafted him for a couple of offseasons now. After the 2023 season, they realized that a lot needed to change.

In 2024, Young played some of his best football when he returned from the bench. In 2025, he had his best season, but he still had ups and downs, almost on a weekly basis. The numbers were modest, even still.

It's been a roller-coaster three seasons. The fourth could be when Young finally puts it all together and shows everyone what he can be.

Bryce Young is about to break out for the Panthers

When you look at the offseason moves the Panthers made this year, very little of it screams massive jump for Bryce Young. The defense is in much better shape, and the offensive line was repaired after free agency decimated it, but that only does so much for Young.

The additions of Chris Brazzell II and John Metchie III to the wide receiver room and no one new in the tight end room don't do much to improve the weak supporting cast around Young on offense. However, what the Panthers did do should help Young plenty.

Noted ESPN analyst Mina Kimes believes that the offensive line will be more consistent this year after ranking 29th in how often their preferred five linemen were on the field together.

"They made one of my favorite signings of the entire offseason, bringing in Rasheed Walker on a one-year deal," Kimes said. "But then they weren't done there, they also drafted Monroe Freeling out of Georgia."

She said that generally, the pass block win rates of the incoming offensive linemen are substantially better than those of the outgoing. Walker's a better protector than Ikem Ekwonu, and Luke Fortner is better than Cade Mays at center.

All of this points to what Bill Barnwell believes the Panthers wanted to do: make life easier on Bryce Young. He said to Kimes, "[They can] evaluate Bryce Young, but also just put Bryce Young in better situations."

Barnwell cited the inconsistency of the run game in 2025, noting that it was not very effective outside of those two historic Rico Dowdle games. "I think you saw them a little bit too often in third and long, in obvious pass situations," Barnwell said.

While Kimes loves the tackle and center upgrades the Panthers have made, Barnwell appreciates the improved health of the interior. Because Young is "little," the Panthers need good interior line play, which is why they spent on Damien Lewis and Robert Hunt in 2024 in the first place.

So having them both healthy with an improved center and a better left tackle on the outside should give the Panthers a much more reliable offensive line. That will help the run game and help Young by protecting him and keeping him out of bad down-and-distances.

Add us as a preferred source on Google

Follow