Panthers' Bryce Young Playing Might Be Good News for Vikings
Panthers rookie quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, was a full participant in practice today. That puts him on track to start against the Vikings on Sunday after missing Carolina's Week 3 game against the Seahawks with an ankle injury.
That feels like good news for the Vikings.
Young is a great prospect with a bright future, but if he plays this weekend, it'll be the third start of his NFL career. In his first two games, losses against the Falcons and Saints, he completed 42 of 71 attempts (59 percent) for just 299 yards, with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Young added 51 rushing yards and took six sacks.
Veteran Andy Dalton surpassed Young's season passing total in one game this past Sunday, throwing for 361 yards and two touchdowns without a turnover — albeit on a whopping 58 attempts in a game where the Panthers trailed during the entire second half.
Young's NFL career is still extremely young. He's playing behind an awful offensive line and without much skill position talent at his disposal, with all due respect to Miles Sanders and ex-Viking Adam Thielen. It's going to take time for him to develop and feel comfortable and learn how to read defenses at this level. The Vikings have struggled on defense against the Eagles and Chargers over the past two weeks, but you get the feeling Brian Flores' aggressive scheme has a chance to fluster a rookie into some poor decisions.
Dalton is the backup for a reason — this Panthers season is all about Young's development — but his experience would likely make him more dangerous against Flores' blitzes. The 35-year-old has 167 career starts under his belt, including five starts against the Vikings with four different teams: The Bengals, Cowboys, Bears, and Saints. Last year, in the Week 4 London game, Dalton had a solid, efficient outing in New Orleans' three-point loss.
"I think you have to prepare for their overall scheme, and you may have a couple things based on whether it’s the veteran or the rookie or a combination of the two," Kevin O'Connell said. "You never know, but I know Bryce is a tough guy, trying to work his way back and my expectation would be that we better plan on seeing him and all that he brings. Which is a lot, from an athletic standpoint, very accurate, sees the whole field."
Young certainly brings more athleticism and upside to the table than Dalton, and he might start to look good as his rookie season progresses. But for now, one imagines the Vikings feel OK about their chances against him in his third career start.
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