Bryce Young’s turnaround has become impossible to ignore in Carolina, and Sunday’s 32-26 home win over the Detroit Lions only sharpened the picture. Young heard “MVP!” chants inside the building, then backed it up with a sharp 329-yard, two-touchdown performance that helped push the Panthers to a victory and further lifted his standing.
That kind of rise is exactly what ESPN NFL Draft and fantasy football expert Field Yates has been watching from afar. Yates said there was a stretch when Young’s future looked far less certain.
“I was getting nervous, I'm not going to lie to you,” Yates said in reflecting back on the rough stretches Young endured. “I liked Bryce, obviously.
But after a couple of years you're sitting there saying to yourself ‘They paid how much to move up and get Bryce Young?' That's big load to pay for a player who might not be the guy for your future.”
Carolina had put Young on the bench during head coach Dave Canales’ first season, and plenty of observers had already moved on from the 2023 Panthers first-round pick. Yates said he felt that same unease about where the quarterback situation was headed.
Now the story looks very different. Young is a 3,000-yard passer and NFC South champion QB, and his latest outing against Detroit looked polished and controlled. For Yates, the bigger takeaway goes beyond one hot stretch.
“But I think what Bryce Young's recent play reminds us of is if you invest in a quarterback, and you believe he's going to have the starter skills to be an awesome player, do not slow down with your development. Just keep on doing it,” Yates said.
“It's not going to be this clear cut trajectory all the time. Sometimes, it takes some peaks and valleys to get a player where you like him to be.”
Yates said Carolina deserves credit for sticking with its belief in Young, who is now in his fourth year and has reached Cam Newton numbers while changing the conversation around him.
Yates’ “Crunchtime” promotion for Red Baron is part of the brand’s “Field Access” plan, giving fans a chance to earn weekly one-on-one strategy sessions with the fantasy expert.
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Bryce Young Has Changed Carolina's Biggest Long Term Question
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Princely Umanmielen has created a similar kind of momentum on the other side of the ball, stepping into a larger role as a pass rusher and making it matter while Jaelan Phillips is injured. The Panthers still have plenty to sort out over the stretch run, but the combination of Youngs rise and Umanmielens emergence is giving this team a much sturdier foundation than it had a month ago. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler Shough Knows Saints Fans Have Every Reason To Be Frustrated
The NFC South is already doing what it always seems to do this time of year, mixing quarterback questions, injury updates and plenty of frustration. Falcons safety Jessie Bates said Atlanta looks different when Michael Penix Jr. is on the field, while Panthers coach Dave Canales spent part of his Week 5 availability defending cornerback Akayleb Evans after some costly plays and running through the latest injury statuses for his roster.
For Carolina, the broader picture still matters because the division keeps shifting around the quarterback spot, and Saints rookie Tyler Shough is now the latest voice acknowledging how quickly fan patience can wear thin after a loss to Atlanta. He also pointed to the importance of crowd energy in the games ahead, a reminder that the mood inside the dome can still travel with a team even when the results on the field are hard to take. [Read more 🡒]