Bryce Young Fairly Expected to be Biggest Panthers 2026 Bust with Major Caveat

Bryce Young is the face of the Carolina Panthers, and he's going to be either the catalyst for success or the culprit for failure. This is generally the perception of every quarterback, even if it's not really accurate.

Quarterbacks get the credit and the blame, but this is a team sport with a ton of moving parts required for any one player to have success.

Regardless, Bleacher Report's Moe Moton believes that Young could be the biggest bust for the Panthers this season over high-priced Jaelan Phillips, actual bust Xavier Legette, and others.

Moton pointed out that the Panthers aren't expected to sign Young to an extension this offseason. That doesn't mean they're not going to ever, though. The Houston Texans aren't going to extend C.J. Stroud this offseason, either, for what that's worth.

The insider wrote, "The 24-year-old signal-caller made strides in the previous season, but the Panthers still finished 26th in total passing yards for the term."

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks for his receiver during the first day | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Moton said that Young will likely need to showcase himself as a productive, high-volume passer when necessary this season, adding, "That seems unlikely because of a tough schedule."

Because the Panthers won the NFC South while facing a third-place schedule, they now face a bit of a gauntlet: Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks among other tough teams.

"Young could regress as he faces more division leaders this year than last season," Moton concluded. That is all true, and it is certainly possible that Young could take a small step back because of it. He faces the league's toughest slate of opposing defenses by DVOA. It'll be hard.

But, and this is a big caveat, if Young does struggle, it will at least partially be because his supporting cast was awful once again. If Tetairoa McMillan regresses or fails to improve, that will hurt Young. If none of Xavier Legette, Chris Brazzell, or Jimmy Horn provide anything, that'll hurt, too.

The Panthers would also be at fault for investing so much on defense while largely leaving Young to sink or swim. They spent their first-round pick on a lineman that's not even going to play this year. That doesn't help much.

Everywhere you look, the Panthers are rated poorly at the skill positions. CBS Sports analyst Jared Dubin ranked all the offensive groups (line, pass-catchers, running backs, and coaches) for all teams, and the Panthers ended up 28th.

ranking the best offensive lines

1. Denver Broncos
2. Philadelphia Eagles
3. Buffalo Bills
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Los Angeles Rams
6. Chicago Bears
7. San Francisco 49ers
8. Los Angeles Chargers
9. Seattle Seahawks
10. Atlanta Falcons
11. Indianapolis Colts
12. Carolina…
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) July 8, 2026

Chuba Hubbard was just ranked the 27th-best starting running back in the NFL. They don't have a single viable tight end. The offensive line, for as good as it is, just got ranked 12th by Warren Sharp in the tweet above.

Yes, Young is the quarterback, which means he's responsible, fairly or unfairly, for how the offense plays. But to deem him the potential biggest bust this year would be to ignore the still-disappointing situation around him.

It's true that the Panthers will go as Young goes. If he's good this year, they'll be just fine. If he's not, then they will likely regress as a team. But to put all of that on the shoulders of a quarterback who still has little to no help on offense is not fair.

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