The Key To Solving the Bryce Young 'Enigma' Is Clear for Panthers

Bryce Young has been up and down during his tenure with the Carolina Panthers. PFF analysts Dalton Wasserman and Max Chadwick ranked him the 20th-best QB in the NFL, which is pretty fair, and noted that he's one of the NFL's biggest enigmas.

That is not inaccurate. Last season, though this was not fully his fault, he would look like a future MVP one week and a future backup the next. Growth isn't linear, nor was Young's production in 2025.

The thing is, the solution to solving this enigma that is Young and his level of productivity is pretty clear to see.

The solution to Bryce Young's enigmatic performance with the Panthers

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks downfield during the first day of mini camp | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

What's interesting about the two PFF analysts breaking down what makes Bryce Young so confounding is that they also, perhaps inadvertently, provided the answer.

"Young is perhaps the biggest enigma among the NFL’s current starting quarterbacks. Including the postseason, he ranked 12th in the NFL in big-time throws (25)," the analysts began. They also mentioned that he had 78.0 PFF grades or better in five games (hot), and 52.0 or lower in five games (cold).

How do the Panthers unlock Young and get him to either be good more often or cut out the valleys he experienced alongside the peaks? Well, Max Chadwick and Dalton Wasserman may have the answer.

"Young’s willingness to attack downfield makes a massive difference in Carolina’s offense. The Panthers went 5-2 during the 2025 regular season when Young completed multiple passes that traveled at least 20 air yards. They went 3-7 when he completed one or fewer," they wrote.

Of course, that may be one of those anecdotal stats. For example, if a team is 10-0 when their star running back gets 25 carries, shouldn't they just give him 25 carries and ensure a win?

It doesn't work like that, and the Panthers winning when Young throws deep more often doesn't guarantee that it'll always happen like that.

However, letting him throw it deep more is crucial to unlocking the offense, fixing Young, and winning more football games. That isn't anecdotal, because all evidence points to the deep ball being a legitimate weapon for Young.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) passes the ball in the fourth quarter | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Watching Young and the Panthers last year, it was evident that the game plan often let him down. The run-heavy scheme wasn't all bad, but sometimes, it meant that Young couldn't get into a flow or do what he does best.

The Panthers don't need Young to air it out every play, but Dave Canales does need to trust him to take deep shots more often. It's the thing he quite literally does better than most players in the sport. Ironically, taking the safe, short throws didn't work out as well.

Hopefully, Canales and first-year play-caller Brad Idzik figure this out as well.

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