Jon Gruden is not easing into the Bryce Young conversation. He’s going all in.
The former NFL head coach said on Wake Up Barstool that the Carolina Panthers quarterback belongs in the upper tier of the league right now, even putting him in the MVP conversation through the first month of the season.
“I think Bryce Young deserves a lot of credit. If you want to pick the top 2 or 3 players in the NFL in the first of the month of the season, Bryce Young is one of them," Gruden said on Wake Up Barstool.
That kind of praise comes with Young putting together a sharp start for a Panthers team that sits at 2-2. Through four games, the Alabama product has thrown for 1,268 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions. He’s also added 19 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown.
The numbers get even more interesting when you dig into the Next Gen Stats. Young has piled up 411 passing yards under pressure, along with four touchdowns under pressure. He’s also logged 321 deep passing yards, seven touchdowns outside the numbers, 534 passing yards outside the numbers, 928 passing yards against zone coverage and 340 passing yards against man coverage.
Carolina’s results have been a roller coaster so far. The Panthers opened with a loss to the Chicago Bears, bounced back against the Atlanta Falcons, dropped a game to the Cleveland Browns and then beat the Detroit Lions in Week 4 on Sunday Night Football.
Young’s current production also comes with real financial stakes. He’s making $12.1 million this season in the fourth year of his rookie deal, and Carolina already picked up his fifth-year option, which is worth a guaranteed $25.9 million. The Panthers did not work out an extension, so Young will need another strong season to position himself for a big payday next offseason.
That’s a major shift from where things stood not long ago. Young led Carolina to the playoffs last season before the Panthers lost to the Los Angeles Rams at home in the wild-card round. And before that turnaround, Young had been benched for Andy Dalton in 2024, a move that had plenty of people wondering whether his time in Carolina was finished.
Instead, he’s back on track, and the Panthers are sitting on their bye week with a chance to reset. Their next game comes October 18 against the Philadelphia Eagles.
Carolina also enters that stretch tied with the Falcons for first place in the NFC South, after winning the division last season.
A big part of Young’s hot start has been the presence of Tetairoa McMillan. The 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year has caught 26 passes for 385 yards and two touchdowns in four games, and after what he did in Week 4, he’s on pace to blow past the 70-catch, 1,014-yard line from last season.
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