How Carolina Panthers quarterbacks were graded by PFF during 2025 preseason

The preseason is mercifully over for the Carolina Panthers, who went 0-3 and didn't look particularly impressive at any point except for one touchdown drive led by Bryce Young against the Browns. While the 2025 draft class looked strong, there wasn't much else to like - including the team's quarterback depth getting exposed in a bad way.

However, there was one positive exception to that rule. Let's take a look at the team's Pro Football Focus grades for the entire preseason and examine how they evaluated the Panthers' quarterbacks.

Bryce Perkins earns top marks

The best QB grade for Carolina went to fourth-stringer Bryce Perkins, who only joined the team a few days ago after Andy Dalton suffered an elbow injury. Perkins played one half against the Pittsburgh Steelers, going 10/11 for 71 yards and a 93.6 passer rating. He added another 28 yards on scrambles. For his efforts he earned a 79.5 overall grade, which was the highest mark for the Panthers' offense this preseason.

Bryce Young gets solid grade

Starter Bryce Young didn't see a ton of action this month, but PFF seems to have liked what they saw. Young led a nice drive against Cleveland Week 1, including a perfectly-placed 29-yard bomb to Tetairoa McMillan and a backyard touchdown to Jalen Coker. Young earned a passing grade of 73.5 and an overall grade of 72.8 overall, which was the sixth-highest mark for Carolina's offense.

Andy Dalton only average

The team's number two quarterback also saw limited action, putting in 32 snaps in two games before his elbow injury. Dalton manage to sack himself and threw an ugly pick on consecutive plays, but he also made several sharp passes against Cleveland. He earned a slightly better than average grade of 63.7 overall, ranking 14th for the Panthers' offense.

Jack Plummer in last place

The majority of preseason snaps at this position went to undrafted second-year QB Jack Plummer and the results left much to be desired. Against Pittsburgh he went 7/14 for just 48 yards, he threw one terrible interception and his one touchdown pass was about as ugly as touchdowns get. He was even worse against the Texans, throwing two picks and getting held out of the end zone. Plummer also went scoreless against the Browns despite facing their srubs on defense. He ended the preseason with a grade of 35.1 overall, which was the lowest mark of any player on the team.

Looking ahead, the Panthers should probably be in the market for another quarterback before the season begins. Perkins has too little experience with his new teammates and they clearly can't rely on Plummer. Dalton is not a long-term backup option in any case, so they need to add somebody behind Bryce Young, if at all possible.

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