The Panthers Are in Big Trouble if Kenny Pickett Has to Play for Bryce Young

The Carolina Panthers felt, accurately so, that Andy Dalton was no longer equipped to be their backup quarterback. They saw what we all saw when Dalton had to start versus the Buffalo Bills: a QB that didn't have it anymore.

They decided they wanted to get younger and more athletic behind Bryce Young. Enter Kenny Pickett, whom they signed to a one-year, $4 million deal. They chose him over some rookies and FAs like Trey Lance or Zach Wilson.

Pickett is a former first-round pick with 27 career starts, but he's now on his fifth team since being drafted in 2022. If he ends up playing at all this year, the Panthers are probably in big trouble.

Kenny Pickett doesn't rank well among backup QBs

Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kenny Pickett (15) throws the ball against the Kansas City Chiefs | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Say what you want about Bryce Young, but he's ridiculously durable. He's taken an insane amount of hits over the years, but he's held up. Despite being benched for five games in 2024, he's been sacked the third-most since he entered the league.

Yet, he's only missed two games with two different ankle injuries. In both instances, he came back a little earlier than expected. He's been wildly durable, but the fact remains that he is slight. He's 5'10" and 204 pounds, so he's not exactly built to withstand hits.

If he does get hurt, the Panthers are in trouble. It was once a widely held belief that Andy Dalton was a capable backup who could play and keep the Panthers afloat. That wasn't true in 2025, so the Panthers moved on to Kenny Pickett.

On one hand, a former first-rounder with 27 starts as a backup is solid. But Pickett really isn't. He's fallen from grace, and he ranked 24th on Gilberto Manzano's list ranking the best backups in the NFL. That's not great.

"Pickett has played for the Eagles, Browns, Raiders and now the Panthers since the Steelers gave up on the 2022 first-round pick two years ago. Outside of his starting experience (27 career starts), Pickett doesn’t offer much upside as a QB2. He’s not a streaky quarterback who can get hot in a hurry and push the ball downfield, which is the case for most signal-callers on this list," he wrote.

Carolina Panthers quarterback Andy Dalton (14) warms up before the game against the New Orleans Saints | Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

Pickett isn't the worst backup out there, obviously. But he's not going to be able to come in and drive success if he needs to. The Panthers' offense won't be very good. Bryce Young doesn't do everything well, but he throws down the field better than most.

So if he goes down, that offensive advantage will disappear, and the rest of the offense isn't equipped to shine in spite of a totally lackluster QB. Pickett is unlikely to be as disastrous as Dalton was (ranked 19th, for what it's worth) in his spot start, but he won't be good, either. Let's all hope Young stays on the field, though there's no reason to suspect he won't.

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