NFL Analysis

12/26/24

6 min read

How Bryce Young's Midseason Benching Sparked an Improbable Resurgence

By James Foster

NFL Analyst
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) on the field in overtime at Bank of America Stadium.
Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young (9) on the field in overtime at Bank of America Stadium. Bob Donnan-Imagn Images.

Just two weeks into his sophomore season, Bryce Young’s career outlook seemed hopeless. His rookie year was disappointing and cause for concern, but some of his struggles could be explained away by poor receiver and offensive line play.

Carolina dedicated the following offseason to investing in its young quarterback and surrounding him with capable offensive personnel. They spent $89 million in guaranteed money on guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis. They added offensive weapons with three of their first four picks in the 2024 Draft. They also hired Dave Canales as their head coach, a promising offensive mind with a proven track record of salvaging the careers of first-round quarterback busts.

While the roster was far from a finished product, it had reached the baseline minimum level of competence to fairly evaluate Young, and he needed to show significant improvement. But the first two weeks of the season were so disastrous that Canales had no choice but to bench him.

What I assumed was the end of his tenure as a starting NFL quarterback was actually a crucial reset point that led to a staggering resurgence. Since returning in Week 8, Bryce Young has played like a first-round pick, and I’m optimistic that the Panthers have found their franchise quarterback.

Byrce Young's Surprising Resurgence

STATISTICS

Young’s stat line in the last eight games is unimpressive. He’s thrown 10 touchdowns and six interceptions and hasn’t eclipsed 300 yards in a single game. Out of 32 qualifying quarterbacks, he ranks 27th in yards per attempt (6.4), 28th in passer rating (83.0), and 29th in completion rate (61.1%) during that timespan.

The film tells a completely different story than the box score. Young has been accurate, decisive, and confident, but his receivers haven’t given him much help.

They have routinely dropped perfectly accurate deep targets or failed to land both feet in bounds in the end zone. Every quarterback’s statistics are deflated by receiver error to varying degrees, but Carolina’s receivers have left an inordinate amount of production on the field.

Sack avoidance is one area of improvement reflected by the numbers. Bryce Young’s career pressure-to-sack rate before his benching was 24.9 percent, the second highest in the NFL. Since Week 8, he’s only been sacked on 14.3 percent of pressured dropbacks, the 10th lowest among 32 qualifiers.

DEEP ACCURACY

His deep accuracy has also significantly improved during the second half of the season.

While he lacks the elite arm strength to consistently push the ball 40+ yards downfield, his ball placement within the 20-30 yard range has been excellent:

PROCESSING

Given his limited physical traits, to succeed in the NFL, Young needs to be a surgeon operating from within the pocket. When he had time, he was actually a fairly efficient intermediate passer as a rookie, but this year, it’s become a true strength.

Here, Young progresses to his third read and finds David Moore on a backside dig:

On these two plays from Week 10, Young freezes the hook defender with his eyes and creates a second window to hit a deep over:

His performance on late downs has been the most impressive development of his game. He’s poised and decisive when attacking intermediate zone windows over the middle of the field. He also has an acute awareness of coverage angles and throws with precision to protect his receiver and the football:

His toughness and anticipation in these high-leverage moments are incredible to watch. Canales calls a lot of sail concepts on third and medium. From a trips formation, Young can easily identify man coverage. Defensive backs always play with inside leverage in these situations since there’s no help over the middle of the field, so Young trusts his receivers to separate on out-breaking routes.

He understands where the pressure is coming from and can expedite his release while taking punishing hits. He has exceptional timing and chemistry with his receivers and usually releases the ball well before their break:

PLAYMAKING

The creativity and playmaking ability that led Young to success at Alabama was almost non-existent on his rookie tape. This year, however, he looks like he’s playing in the SEC again.

This is arguably the best play of Young’s NFL career. On what should have been a game-winning drive, the Panthers are backed up on their own two-yard line, facing third and 11. He escapes the pocket and breaks out of a sack, then elevates the ball over two defenders to convert the first down:

This play is a great example of his release flexibility in the face of pressure. Kyzir White runs unblocked through the A-gap, but Zaven Collins (#25) is sinking into the passing lane and covering Young’s outlet. Young instantly releases the ball as he’s getting planted, with enough precision to avoid the hole defender:

He shows a similar skill set on bootlegs, which teams usually defend by telling the backside edge defender to ignore the run action and cut off the quarterback’s rollout angle. Young can save these plays by dodging the free runner and quickly squaring his hips to find an open receiver:

He was an effective scrambler in 2023 and is elusive on the open field, but Week 16 is the first time I’ve seen him truck a linebacker:

Young hasn’t yet fully established himself as a franchise quarterback, but the last eight games have boosted his stock tremendously.

After his rookie season, the best-case scenario seemed to be Young eventually developing into a capable starter, but I’m becoming a lot more bullish on his upside.

Tags: Bryce Young, Carolina Panthers

James Foster

NFL Analyst

James Foster is an NFL writer who creates film-based analysis of NFL players and teams. He previously worked for A to Z Sports.

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