Drake Maye & Matthew Stafford Fall Short of Bryce Young in This Epic QB Stat

Former first-overall pick Bryce Young is about to enter his fourth season in the NFL, and he has shown flashes of being the dynamic, franchise-defining starter under center that the Carolina Panthers hoped he would be when they drafted him three years ago.

One of the areas in which Young has shown to be exceptional is throwing the deep ball. He regularly ranks among the NFL's best at pushing the ball down the field, which was a driving force behind his career year in 2025.

Many may not realize just how good Young was at throwing the ball deep last season, but PFF recently put out a post on X that shows just how exceptional the Carolina quarterback was in this area compared to some of the NFL's best gunslingers.

Highest DEEP BALL (20+ yard) passing grade last season
(min 40 attempts)

Bryce Young 99.7
Matthew Stafford 98.9
Drake Maye 97.4 pic.twitter.com/3Jwf56KH5X
— PFF (@PFF) August 8, 2026

According to PFF, Young had the highest deep ball passing grade in the entire NFL last season at 99.7, a mark that surpassed both league MVP Matthew Stafford (98.9) and MVP runner-up Drake Maye (97.4).

Anytime a quarterback can put themselves in the same conversation as Stafford, they're probably doing something right, but the fact that Young bests him in the area many consider to be his biggest strength shows just how special the Panthers' signal-caller truly is when it comes to throwing it long.

Maye is also widely considered to be the next big thing at the quarterback position, so the fact that Young also beats him out as well is another massive feather in his cap.

Something to Build On

Charlotte, NC, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) throws during Fanfest at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Anyone who has watched Young over the course of his early career in the NFL has always known that he has a knack for hitting his receivers in the deep part of the field. This has been a massive strength of his, even going back to his college days at Alabama.

The next step in Young's development will be figuring out how to translate his proficiency on deep passes to the shorter and intermediate areas of the passing game. These are the areas he has to improve in if he wants to reach his full potential.

If Young can figure out how to unlock those other pieces of his game, then Carolina might have the franchise quarterback they were looking for when they drafted him at the top of the draft three years back.

He'll have to prove he can take that next step soon, though, as the deadline for any potential long-term extension is rapidbly approaching.

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