Bryce Young and John Metchie III are picking up right where they left off.
That connection has been on display this offseason in Carolina, where the Panthers brought Metchie in on a one-year deal in March and reunited him with the quarterback he knew so well at Alabama. The two played together in 2020 and 2021, and even after time apart, they still looked synced up during spring workouts.
“They're fun to watch,” fellow wide receiver David Moore said of Young and Metchie, via Kassidy Hill of Panthers.com.
Moore also pointed to the kind of chemistry that can survive years away from the field. “Once the receiver and the QB get that connection, that connection can't be broken,” continued Moore.
“It doesn't matter if you play with him for three years, two years, and then don't see him again for however long; that's his case. Once you get the timing of that QB, he doesn't slack off, and you don't slack off, and y'all keep doing it, then y'all will get back together, and it'll be like clockwork.”
That familiarity mattered plenty when Metchie was Young’s top target during Young’s Heisman Trophy-winning season. In 2021, Metchie led Alabama with 92 catches for 1,142 receiving yards and eight touchdowns.
Now the challenge shifts to making Carolina stick. The Panthers are Metchie’s fourth NFL team, after previous stops with the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets. The 25-year-old wideout will have to carve out a role in a crowded competition that also includes Moore, Jimmy Horn Jr., Brycen Tremayne and Dan Chisena in the back end of the receiver room.
For Metchie, the upside is obvious: he already knows how Young sees the game. And in a training camp battle that could come down to small edges, that kind of head start may matter.
In Other News...
Tetairoa McMillan Camp Mess Has Panthers Fans And Parents Heated
What was supposed to be a youth football camp tied to Tetairoa McMillan instead turned into a frustrating day for families at A.C. Reynolds High School on July 1, when parents showed up expecting an event that was no longer happening. McMillan was not involved in planning and could not attend, and FlexWork Sports later confirmed the camp had been canceled back in February, leaving a messy gap between what families were told and what was actually on the calendar.
The school added another layer to the confusion by saying it never approved the event in the first place, and the NCHSAA dead period would have blocked facility use anyway. For Panthers fans, it is the kind of off-field headache that reflects poorly on everyone attached to the name, especially when the communication breakdown lands on parents who were simply trying to give their kids a football experience. [Read more 🡒]
Panthers May Finally Have A Real Answer To Bryce Young's TE Problem
The Panthers have spent the offseason trying to sort out a tight end room that still looks more functional than threatening for Bryce Youngs passing game. Tommy Tremble, JaTavion Sanders and Mitchell Evans are the names currently in line for the job, but Carolina has been working with a group that needs more proven help in the middle of the field, especially as the rest of the passing options remain relatively thin behind Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker.
One possible path to easing that pressure is a veteran addition in free agency, and the fit makes sense on paper because Carolina is looking for a pass-catching tight end who can give Young a more reliable target. The appeal is easy to see after a strong run earlier in the players career, though the most recent season was far less productive, which leaves the Panthers weighing upside against the risk that the answer might not be as simple as the need. [Read more 🡒]