The Carolina Panthers selected Bryce Young with their first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. Will he play right away for the team? I don’t think many people are surprised by this selection. It seemed rather set in stone in all honesty, regardless of the various reports that came out saying differently.
Young appears to be in a solid position to play right away in Carolina, but is the Panthers’ coaching staff prepared to trot him out there week one?
Will Bryce Young play right away with the Carolina Panthers?
Well, there are arguments for yes he should and arguments for heck no he should not.
So, let’s start with why he should play immediately.
Why Bryce Young should play immediately
The Carolina Panthers sacrificed quite a bit to be able to move up from the ninth overall pick to the first overall pick. They traded away their best player in DJ Moore and multiple high draft picks to make the eight pick jump.
As a prospect, aside from his frame, Young checks all of the boxes. He’s accurate, good in the pocket, has enough arm strength and was able to elevate his Alabama teammates. There really isn’t a lot he can’t do aside from being 6’4″.
Why would the Panthers wait around and start Andy Dalton? The roster itself on offense can’t necessarily get appreciably better between the last two days of the draft. They’ve got an underrated offensive line, adequate weapons and an excellent coaching staff led by Frank Reich.
Again I ask, why wait around? Sure, Andy Dalton might be the higher floor quarterback, but Young is supposed to be the future, and they’ll never know if he’s the future or not unless he plays.
Why Bryce Young should not play immediately
With there being a brand new coaching staff and quite a few new faces on offense, they might benefit from holding Young out for a few weeks until they get all of the kinks worked out, or as much as they reasonably ca.
Perhaps the offensive scheme that Frank Reich wants to run is a bit choppy to execute at first.
You never know; issues can pop up and maybe the Panthers do not want Young to have to go through preventable issues like that.
They might want Andy Dalton to take some of those snaps at first until the offense finds a rhythm. Also, with the NFC South being wide open, the Panthers might trust Dalton and all of his experience much more than Young.
You never know! Both scenarios could play out, but we’ll see in time whether Young will play immediately or not.