Jets' Garrett Wilson Praises Panthers' Bryce Young amid Bounce-Back 2nd NFL Season

Bryce Young apparently has a fan in Garrett Wilson.

The 2023 top overall pick had a resurgent 2024 campaign after being benched earlier in the season—and after a brutal rookie season—and Wilson seemed to appreciate that second act, offering succinct but effusive praise of the Carolina Panthers' quarterback on social media under a collection of his highlights:

Young, 23, appeared as though he may be headed for bust status after going 2-14 as the starter in 2023, throwing for 2,877 yards, 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions while taking a whopping 62 sacks.

He did little to alleviate those fears in the first two games of the 2024 season, throwing for 145 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions, taking six sacks, in a pair of convincing losses. He was promptly benched for Andy Dalton, and it appeared as though the Panthers had made one of the worst trades in NFL history when they gave up a pair of first-round picks, a pair of second-round picks and wideout D.J. Moore for the top overall pick in 2023.

But after Dalton sprained his thumb in a car crash, Young regained his starting status in Week 8 and looked like a different player. In the final 10 games of the season he threw for 2,204 yards, 15 touchdowns and six interceptions, taking 23 sacks while rushing for five scores, and the Panthers went 4-6, which included a Week 18 upset of an Atlanta Falcons team that was trying to play its way into the playoffs.

Young threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for two more scores in the win, and Panthers' head coach Dave Canales was quick to throw his long-term support behind the young quarterback.

"Bryce is our quarterback," he told reporters. "I'm so proud of the way he just took the challenge and just grew every week."

Team owner David Tepper was also impressed.

"A real good win. I think we've got our QB here," he told NFL Network's Cameron Wolfe.

It would appear that Young's peers, including Wilson and C.J. Stroud—taken one pick after Young in the 2023 NFL draft—have taken notice as well.

"He's been balling, I'm so happy for him," Stroud told reporters regarding Young. "The guys around him are rallying around him, but he's leading them. Doing what he needs to do to make plays."