How the Carolina Panthers Failed Bryce Young Yet Again

For much of his short NFL career, the Carolina Panthers have failed Bryce Young. In his rookie season, the offensive line was utterly dreadful, and he was tasked with throwing to Adam Thielen, Hayden Hurst, and DJ Chark with Miles Sanders running the ball.

Things have gotten better since then, with Carolina especially improving the offensive line in the offseasons since then. The weapons have also improved, but not to the degree that's truly going to help Young out.

Having Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker last year was pretty helpful, but the Panthers didn't add much beyond them, and it could come back to bite them.

The Panthers failed to get Bryce Young the right help once again

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks to pass as guard Damien Lewis (68) and offensive tackle Yosh Nijman (77) block | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Bryce Young's accuracy is pretty good. Otherwise, he'd hardly ever complete a pass. Even with the award-winning season of Tetairoa McMillan, the Panthers didn't have too many wide open receivers for Young to throw to. He routinely has had to fit the ball into tight windows.

Reg Season '25
While under pressure, Bryce completed 79% of his attempts while targeting an open receiver.
This ranked 16th out of 45 qualified QBs.

72 of 478 total attempts were under pressure & targeting an open receiver.

This ranked 4th, behind Shedeur, Fields, JJ...😂
— O/U 6.5 wins (@jcorkecu) May 15, 2026

The numbers bear this out. According to one X user, Young completed 79% of his targets to an open receiver, highlighting the accuracy. That was 16th out of all qualified quarterbacks, so he didn't miss open targets very often.

How often did he have open targets? Hardly ever. The Panthers QB had 72 attempts when he was under pressure and had an open receiver to throw to. When opponents brought pressure, Young didn't have anyone open to throw to, which is typically the tradeoff the defense makes.

That is the fourth-lowest number, behind only Shedeur Sanders, Justin Fields, and JJ McCarthy. That's not a group he would want to be included in, but it's the reality of Carolina's offense.

In the offseason, the Panthers did attempt to address one of these issues. Young should be under pressure less with Rasheed Walker/Monroe Freeling at left tackle and Luke Fortner/Sam Hecht at center.

But the open receiver issue still persists. Chris Brazzell could help diversify the offense, but there probably isn't a ton of confidence that he's going to help that open target number rise significantly.

Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker are pretty good at what they do. But they don't find themselves wide open very often at all. You probably saw that while watching the games. The Panthers rarely ever had wide-open receivers for Young to throw to.

Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan (4) reacts with wide receiver Jalen Coker | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Are John Metchie and Chris Brazzell going to change that? Is a potential leap for McMillan, Coker, and/or Xavier Legette going to change that? Probably not, which is why passing on Makai Lemon, Eli Stowers, and/or Justin Joly could sting.

The Panthers have given Young more time to pass, but will that matter as much if the players he's targeting still can't get open at a high clip? That could be a crucial factor for his evolution this year.

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