Xavier Woods Offers Thoughts on Bryce Young & Panthers' Chances in NFC South

Veteran safety Xavier Woods is entering his second season with the Carolina Panthers and after coming oh so close to clinching a playoff spot a year ago, he believes it's right there for the taking in 2023.

"Just off of last year and what we dealt with last year, and how close we came. We had to go against Brady -- we lost that game, but that's the GOAT," Woods said during a recent interview on NFL Total Access. "And there ain't no Brady in this conference anymore, so we don't have to see him. There's some good quarterbacks in this conference and whatnot but we just feel as though we have a chance. As long we just take each game one at a time, we have a chance."

And he's exactly right. With Tom Brady retired, the opposing quarterbacks in the division are Derek Carr, Baker Mayfield, and Desmond Ridder - certainly not a group of quarterbacks that defenses fear.

The one quarterback that could do that, though, is on Woods' side, Bryce Young. After spending some time being around the No. 1 overall pick, Woods can already tell Young has what it takes to be successful in the league.

"Just the swagger. Just his persona, how he carries himself. Not only in the weight room but on the practice field. He's got that silent swagger. You can definitely tell that he knows that he's top-tier. But he's humble with it. Being a first-round draft pick, it's going to come with a lot of expectations and whatnot. But I'm pretty sure he knows that he can carry it. Just the way he carries himself, it shows."

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