The Carolina Panthers picked Bryce Young out of Alabama with the first overall pick. The guy picked right after him was C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State. Leading up to the draft, there had been a huge debate over whether to draft Stroud or Young. The debate split the Carolina Panthers fanbase in half. Eventually, as draft day drew closer, most fans agreed on Young and were happy with the selection. Fast forward to week 11 of the NFL season. The Carolina Panthers have a record of 1-8, while the Houston Texans have a record of 6-4.
Lately, fans are questioning whether Scott Fitterer and Frank Reich made a mistake by drafting Bryce at No. 1 overall. C.J. has been a rookie phenomenon, with many people in the NFL community thinking he is a runaway favorite for Rookie of the Year and perhaps MVP (the last time a rookie won MVP was 1957 when Jim Brown won it on the Cleveland Browns). Here are three reasons why the Panthers did not make a mistake by taking Young at number one overall.
1. The Offensive Line
If you have been watching Carolina at all this season (if you have been, someone should pay for your therapy) as I have, you quickly realize that their O-Line is atrocious. According to a ranking from Pro Football Talk of the best offensive lines the Panthers rank 24th.
“LT Ikem Ekwonu, LG Chandler Zavala, C Bradley Bozeman, RG Austin Corbett, RT Taylor Moton…..There’s been a revolving door along this offensive line, especially on the interior. This group needs to improve with time and they will…..Ekwonu has been a roller coaster in his second season. Losing Chandler Zavala in Week 5 was a tough pill to swallow, but he could be their new starter on the left side again after the Panthers released Calvin Throckmorton. Getting Austin Corbett back from injury has been a positive for Carolina. Unfortunately, they’re trying to run a lot of zone concepts, but their offensive line is better built for a gap scheme”.
Corbett also went down with an injury on Sunday against Dallas.
Carolina’s offensive-line woes are even more highlighted because of the record. According to ESPN, Bryce has approximately 3.02 seconds to get the ball out, which makes sense against the Dallas Cowboys, given that he was sacked more than seven times. Stroud has a little less time but a better-ranked offensive line at No. 15
2. Lack of Weaponry
The Panthers are currently rotating between Miles Sanders, Chuba Hubbard, and Raheem Blackshear. Meanwhile, the Texans have an RB1 in Tank Dell. Sanders has not lived up to what Carolina has paid him, Hubbard is decent but, not that dynamic running back that D’Onta Foreman was last year, and Raheem has not seen much playing time (to be fair to the Carolina running backs, the O-line is not giving them many gaps to run threw).
3. Coaching Staff/Ownership
Frank Reich is on the hot seat as a coach, and it’s only year one. There are many rumors that he will be fired, and all the meanwhile, DeMeco Ryans seems to be one of the most impressive, if not the most impressive, first-year head coach in the league. The Texans also do not have David Tepper, who is cheap (if I continue speaking about my thoughts of David Tepper, I might get fired).
Lastly, I'd like to offer this quote from Augusta Stone (a former writer for the Panthers) “Bryce Young is in an impossible situation. It is so hard to get a read on him because of it, and I don't feel like it's wrong to say that.” This quote perfectly describes how Panthers fans, NFL fans, and the NFL media, as a whole, should view Bryce Young’s situation.
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