The Carolina Panthers’ season has taken a sharp turn, with rookie quarterback Bryce Young facing significant struggles early in his career.
The new regime in Carolina was hoping that Young would bounce back after his nightmare rookie season. However, all it took was two disastrous performances for head coach Dave Canales (and those above him) to bench the former No. 1 pick.
As we know, veteran Andy Dalton will get the start for the Panthers as they seek to save their season this week against the Las Vegas Raiders.
Many have already labeled Young a bust. As a matter of fact, many are already calling him the worst draft pick in NFL history.
By all accounts, Young is a terrific person. You never want to see anyone, especially someone as high-character as he is, face such venom.
However, the NFL is a results-oriented league, and Young hasn’t come close to producing results. Period.
Someone who knows all about the dreaded “bust” label is former quarterback Ryan Leaf.
Leaf, who famously endured a turbulent NFL career, directly pointed to the Panthers as the root of Young’s struggles, suggesting they mishandled his development and set him up to fail.
“They screwed this thing up from the get-go. This organization is horrible,” Leaf told TMZ. “This organization has done nothing to try to help and develop a player that has so much expectation on him. And so, I laid this at the feet of the organization completely.”
The Panthers paid a hefty price to select Young first overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, trading wide receiver DJ Moore and two second-round picks to the Chicago Bears.
Despite the massive investment, the franchise has yet to see positive results, leaving the team in an ugly situation.
Reports suggest that Young and his team were caught off guard by the benching. After winning the Heisman Trophy at Alabama, Young is unaccustomed to such setbacks, and the sudden loss of his starting role has reportedly shaken his confidence.
Leaf, who experienced a similar downward spiral after being drafted second overall by the San Diego Chargers, empathized with Young’s current situation.
Leaf recounted the emotional toll of feeling unsupported, both by his franchise and his teammates. He believes Young is facing the same struggles.
“He has zero confidence right now,” Leaf added. “No one believes in him and no one has his back. And I know what that feels like. You don’t want to go into the office. You don’t want to be around anybody.
“Football seems so toxic to you because you’ve always had that. You’ve always had success. And you’ve always been the guy that everybody loved to lift up and follow and everything like that.
“And right now, there’s no one in that locker room that seemingly feels that way. And that is a hard place to be as a leader of men when you’re 22, 23 years old.”
There are some who think Young is the worst draft pick in NFL history – such as ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith…
However, there are many others who agree with Leaf that the Panthers’ dysfunctional organization is most to blame for Young’s failures.
While his poor results speak for themselves, Young has in many ways been set up to fail. Most people agree that he hasn’t received a fair shake and it’s too early to completely write him off.
ESPN’s Dan Orlovsky implored Carolina to trade Young immediately. However, Canales stated that the Panthers have no interest in giving up on Young just yet.
What are your thoughts on Leaf’s comments?
Do you agree with the decision to bench Young? … Have you seen enough to call him an all-time bust???