Panthers, Bryce Young Continue To Get Curiously Disrespected in Favor of Saints

The NFC South figures to be a tightly contested division again, with four eerily similar teams vying for the crown that currently belongs to the Carolina Panthers. Each team has a good case for and against division supremacy.

Bleacher Report's Brad Gagnon made a bold prediction for every division. His guess for the NFC South was that there would be a changing of the guard from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the New Orleans Saints.

That prediction, and the logic behind it, is both faulty and disrespectful to the Panthers.

Bold prediction disrespects Panthers and Bryce Young

Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) looks to throw the ball against the New Orleans Saints | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Could the New Orleans Saints win the NFC South? Certainly. They are, interestingly enough, on a very similar trajectory to the Panthers prior to their ascension to division winner just last year.

Both teams had young offensive head coaches, QBs who showed flashes at the end of the year to inspire hope, and an easier schedule to take advantage of.

For the Panthers, the Bryce Young-Dave Canales combo had enough momentum for some to expect a good year with a third-place schedule, and that's exactly what happened.

For the Saints, everyone expects the Kellen Moore-Tyler Shough tandem to be good enough to win with a fourth-place schedule.

That part of Brad Gagnon's prediction isn't all that faulty, but predicting that they will take the division over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the team that went 2-7 to finish and has declining players everywhere behind a bad coaching staff.

The team that, in other words, didn't even win the division last year. Predicting the Buccaneers to crumble isn't that bold. We expect as much, too, since the Panthers helped usher in their downfall in 2025.

But predicting the Saints to wrest it away from the Panthers because the Panthers have QB questions is laughable. We won't pretend like Bryce Young is a locked-in Pro Bowl QB with zero questions, but how is it just readily assumed that Tyler Shough is?

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) looks to pass during the fourth quarter | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough posted a 103.8 passer rating in his final four games and frequently showed signs that he could be the long-term option under center in New Orleans as the Saints went 4-1 to wrap up the 2025 campaign," Gagnon said.

He also added, "With quarterback situations still murky in Atlanta and Carolina, and significant issues remaining elsewhere on both rosters, expect New Orleans to climb back to the top of the division."

To sum it up, we can't be sold on Bryce Young because he hasn't shown enough to answer the questions, but we can be sold on Tyler Shough based on a four-game sample size when the games pretty much did not matter.

Young has a longer track record and has also shown plenty of flashes. He is also about two years younger than Shough. If anyone still has a level they can get to, it's Young, not Shough.

Thesophomore slump is real, especially for quarterbacks once the NFL gets tape on them. Shough did show flashes, but there should still be ample questions, much like there are for Young. So perhaps we shouldn't prematurely take the crown from Carolina and hand it to New Orleans.

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