BREAKING: Panthers Select Bryce Young with 1st Overall Pick

The Carolina Panthers have their quarterback of the future, selecting Alabama's Bryce Young with the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

Young put up huge numbers during his time with the Crimson Tide, throwing for 8,356 yards, 80 touchdowns, and 12 interceptions while completing 65.8% of his pass attempts. In 2021, Young won the Heisman Trophy and led Alabama to the National Championship game.

A couple of months ago, the Panthers made the bold move of moving up from No. 9 to No. 1 in the draft order and it came with a hefty price. Carolina had to give up the 9th overall pick, the 61st overall pick via San Francisco, a 2024 1st round pick, a 2025 2nd round pick, and wide receiver DJ Moore to go up and get their guy.

A lot of people are making Young's height (5'10") a big deal but really the bigger question is whether or not he can play at the slender size of 195 pounds. General Manager Scott Fitterer doesn't believe it will be an issue.

"I think nutritionally we can do some things to educate him," Fitterer said in a pre-draft press conference a couple of weeks back. "We can get him in the weight room. You can see when you really look at his lower body, his lower body has gotten bigger. He's put on a lot of mass down there. He's going to naturally put on size as he ages. Again, going back to Russ [Wilson], he may have came out 206 pounds. Now he's 220. I mean, guys just grow. That's something he can control. That's something we can help him with. We can't control the height."

The Panthers also considered C.J. Stroud, Will Levis, and Anthony Richardson for the top spot but Young's dinner and meetings with the team appeared to be what sealed the deal.

"All the guys actually did really well in the process. Bryce, in particular, did an absolutely great job with us when we sat down at dinner. Every time you talk to him, it's like talking to a 40-year-old man," Fitterer said during an interview on The Mac Attack on WFNZ Thursday morning. "His maturity, his clarity of thought, just how deep he thinks. He's got it all. He's a really, really smart guy. And I'll say all the other three guys are on par with that as well. But Bryce in particular was really, really strong."

Panthers' Remaining Picks by Round

2nd round: No. 39 overall

3rd round: No. 93 overall (via San Francisco)

4th round: No. 114 overall, No. 132 overall (via San Francisco)

5th round: No. 145 overall

You can follow us for future coverage by liking us on Facebook & following us on Twitter:

Facebook - @PanthersOnSI

Twitter - @AllPanthers_ and Schuyler Callihan at @Callihan_.