The Major Concern With Panthers' QB Room of Bryce Young, Kenny Pickett, Haynes King

The Carolina Panthers routinely found themselves on lists describing bad QB play or unenviable quarterback situations after cutting Cam Newton before the 2020 season. Unfortunately, that hasn't ended in 2026.

CBS Sports analyst Garrett Podell ranked the Panthers as the ninth-worst QB room in the NFL. It could be worse. They could be the Minnesota Vikings, New Orleans Saints, Atlanta Falcons, or Pittsburgh Steelers.

Of course, it could be a whole lot better, which is where the concern comes from. Despite all the improvement from Young and the overall better backup situation behind him, this is still not a great QB room.

The Panthers QB room still isn't in great shape

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett (15) warms up before a game against the Kansas City Chiefs | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Panthers have come a long way since having one of the absolute worst QB situations in the NFL. In 2023, things looked bleak. Halfway through 2024, things looked irrevocably awful. It's improved since then, but there's still room for more.

Garrett Podell wrote, "Bryce Young, the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, produced career highs in completion percentage (63.6%), passing yards per game (188.2) and passing touchdowns (23) in 2025. However, those numbers aren't exactly stellar by NFL quarterbacking standards."

We're big believers in Young. We firmly believe he should be extended and that he's better than the numbers would suggest. But we can't kid ourselves and say he's secretly an elite, top-tier quarterback.

Even in a good overall year, Young was sometimes hot and cold. The offense as a whole was, but Young didn't display the ability to overcome that on a consistent basis. We have to be honest about who he is at this point in his career.

He is a good quarterback, but he's not a great one currently. And behind him, the options aren't all that exciting. Kenny Pickett is a former first-round bust. If he needed to make a spot start, the Panthers could probably game plan him into some success, but he's not very good.

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) runs out of the pocket | Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

Haynes King might make the roster as a UDFA, and he's a supreme athlete. But in college, he was more of a runner than a thrower, and that just won't cut it at the NFL level. Will Grier is such a non-factor that we don't even feel the need to mention him. He probably won't make the roster, but if he does, he's a pretty terrible QB, too.

This is obviously Young's team, but that comes with its own downsides. He has his skills, but it has become apparent that his ceiling is capped. The Panthers should absolutely continue to build around him, but there is a reason the Panthers often show up on these sorts of lists.

Young is held to a high standard, perhaps unfairly. The NFL media also probably doesn't watch the Panthers very often, so they look at his stats. The advanced metrics, like PFF grades, are not always fair to him, either.

But the fact of the matter is that he's not (yet, maybe) a top-tier QB, and the options behind him are pretty mediocre. The Panthers seem to be building a roster that doesn't want to rely on a QB to carry it, but there's a reason for it.

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