If the Carolina Panthers stumble in 2026, Bryce Young is probably going to take the heat - that’s just how it works for quarterbacks. But the more interesting part of this setup is that the blame may not actually fit the player.
The Athletic’s team optimism rankings painted a familiar picture for Carolina: not much confidence overall, but plenty of belief that Young himself is not the main problem. In other words, the Panthers may be stuck in a rough spot, yet the quarterback is still the piece drawing the strongest support.
That doesn’t mean Young is walking into a good situation. The offense around him looks thin, and the path ahead is lined with difficult defenses. He’s being asked to carry a division run with Tetairoa McMillan, Jalen Coker and not a whole lot else behind them.
The list of help is shaky, too. Carolina is leaning on a formerly retired Darren Waller, Jonathon Brooks with two torn ACLs, former first-round bust Xavier Legette and others on offense. That’s a tough group to build around, no matter how much belief there is in the quarterback.
Still, the optimism around Young showed up clearly in the comments The Athletic collected. One optimist said, "Bryce will put the critics to rest this year. On defense, Jaelan Phillips and Devin Lloyd were both great acquisitions."
Another wrote, "Bryce Young really turned a corner last year and finally looked like the QB we thought we were drafting. Some big regular-season wins last year showed we can keep up with the best of them on our day."
Even the skeptical voices weren’t really pointing the finger at Young. One pessimist said, "I think Bryce is poised to have his best year yet, and I think he can be a good NFL QB. But too many O-line injuries and a tough schedule have me worried."
The other pessimist said they have learned not to be optomistic about the Panthers, citing an unproven roster, a banged-up offensive line and a wide range of possible outcomes.
That’s the crux of it: Young is one of the reasons people can still talk themselves into Carolina, but he isn’t the reason they’re nervous. If the Panthers fall apart, the quarterback will hear about it anyway. But the mess may belong more to the roster around him than to the man under center.
In Other News...
Bryce Young Trade Still Haunts The Panthers For One Reason
The 2023 deal that sent the No. 1 overall pick to Carolina is still one of the defining moves of the Bryce Young era, because it did not just land the Panthers their quarterback, it set Chicago up with the kind of draft capital that can reshape a roster for years. The Bears turned those picks into a wave of players, including Caleb Williams, Darnell Wright, Tory Taylor, Tyrique Stevenson and Luther Burden, giving the trade a footprint that keeps growing well beyond draft weekend.
For Carolina, the lingering sting is not only about Youngs early progress, but about how much the other side has already gotten from the transaction. Chicagos haul has produced more immediate depth and impact, while the Panthers are still waiting for the move to fully justify itself on their end. Even so, this is the kind of trade that can look different a year from now if Young keeps developing and Carolina starts cashing in on the quarterback it paid so dearly to land. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers Secondary Could Get Even Scarier With This Early Projection
A new 2027 NFL mock draft from Bleacher Reports Scouting Department has already put the Panthers in a familiar place: eyeing the secondary. The projection has Carolina taking Notre Dame cornerback Leonard Moore with the No. 7 overall pick, a move that would add a technically polished defender with the size and football IQ to fit alongside what the Panthers are trying to build on that side of the ball.
It is only an early projection, of course, but it speaks to how the Panthers could keep leaning into defense if the roster trends hold. Moore is the kind of cornerback evaluators tend to pair with a strong existing group, and that is what makes this idea interesting for Carolina - not just whether he would be a fit, but how much scarier the secondary could look if the front office ever decides to spend premium draft capital there. [Read more 🡒]
Darren Waller Is Giving Panthers Fans A Reason To Dream Again
Darren Waller has spent this offseason taking a different approach to his conditioning, and it has given the Panthers something worth watching as camp unfolds. After a stretch in which his availability and effectiveness have been the real questions, the tight end has come into Carolina with a focus that has shown up both physically and mentally, according to coach Dave Canales.
Canales praised what he has seen from Waller during camp, and for a team looking for any reason to feel better about its passing game, that matters. The Panthers are still piecing together plenty of the offense around him, but Wallers work has at least added a layer of intrigue to a roster that has spent too long searching for steady playmakers. [Read more 🡒]