Against my better judgement, I am quite bullish on the Carolina Panthers for this coming season. They may be one of the biggest rivals of my Atlanta Falcons, but I respect the job Dave Canales and Dan Morgan have done from afar to turn this NFC South doormat around in a hurry. It is amazing what happens when your meddling owner stops meddling. This could be the Panthers' best season in some time.
However, it is largely riding on the growth and development of third-year pro Bryce Young. Carolina traded up from No. 9 to use the No. 1 overall pick on Young out of Alabama in the 2023 NFL Draft. His first two seasons were varying degrees of up and down, mostly down if you ask me. That being said, I did see him take his game to a higher level once he was reinserted into the starting lineup last year.
Bryce Young has all the weapons to succeed in Carolina
What I am getting at is Canales is a great head coach and Morgan seems to know what he is doing when it comes to building a team. Carolina has quietly surrounded Young with one weapon after another. Whether it be newcomers like Tetairoa McMillan and Jimmy Horn Jr., second-year pros like Xavier Legette or ageless veterans like Adam Thielen, there seem to be no excuses out wide for him.
If this is the kind of rapport Young plans to have with McMillan, now is the time to get to a Pro Bowl.
There may be a finite ceiling with Young as a starting quarterback, but I let's hope he has not hit it.
Bryce Young could be running out of excuses to not make a Pro Bowl leap
I look at a team like Carolina and firmly believe the Panthers can contend for the playoffs this year. They seem to be in a three-team race with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta for NFC South divisional supremacy. The New Orleans Saints are not expected to do much this season, but we said similar things about the Panthers a year ago. It is why you must take advantage of being on the rise.
While I would argue that the AFC is rather top-heavy, the NFC is getting more competitive by the year. Carolina may have what it takes to win the NFC South and host a playoff game, but so much has to go right for the Panthers. It starts with Young taking control of his career and playing like he did at times in Tuscaloosa. He always had it in him, but can he win big without having the best talent around him?
What I am getting at is Carolina has talent, plenty of it in fact. It may not be on the level of the true Super Bowl contenders in the NFL, but the Panthers are far from being talent deficient. Young was highly-coveted coming out of Alabama, but that was two years ago. Everybody wants to hop on the bandwagon of what is shiny and new. Young does not want to become yesterday's new, now does he?
I do not expect Young to hit his ceiling this season, but he has to make a major leap.