Panthers HC: Bryce Young Is 'Wired the Right Way' to Overcome Early NFL Struggles

Bryce Young's rookie season went anything but according to plan for the Carolina Panthers, but his new head coach isn't sweating it heading into the 2024 campaign.

"He's wired the right way," head coach Dave Canales said during a conversation with Tom Pelissero of NFL Network when discussing Young's ability to bounce back from his initial struggles.

Canales also pointed to the quarterback's success at the high school and college levels as a highly regarded recruit and Heisman winner at Alabama while suggesting similar results will eventually come in the NFL.

Young faced plenty of pressure as the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 NFL draft and went 2-14 as a starter while completing 59.8 percent of his passes for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while struggling with overall consistency.

Those struggles were amplified by C.J. Stroud thriving as the No. 2 overall pick who directed the Houston Texans to the playoffs as the Offensive Rookie of the Year. Carolina also traded wide receiver DJ Moore and significant draft capital—including what became the No. 1 overall pick of the 2024 NFL draft—to the Chicago Bears to move up to take Young.

Now the Panthers' signal-caller will be compared to Stroud and Caleb Williams, who the Bears will likely take with the No. 1 pick, throughout his career seeing how Carolina could have theoretically ended up with one of them if it chose a different path.

Fortunately for Young and Carolina, he is just 22 years old with plenty of time to bounce back. He also has an offensive-minded coach in Canales who helped another No. 1 overall pick who had dealt with some inconsistency in the past thrive in Baker Mayfield.

Mayfield threw for a career-best 4,044 yards and 28 touchdowns with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023 with Canales as his offensive coordinator, and the coach will look to unlock similar success from Young.