Bryce Young reportedly making 'wow' throws ahead of Year 2 with Carolina Panthers

There’s no doubt that the 2024 season is an important one for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young. The former Alabama star had a rough rookie campaign, completing less than 60% of his passes and finishing with only 11 touchdowns across 16 games.

To make matters worse, fellow rookie QB CJ Stroud, who was picked No. 2 overall behind Young, was sensational in his first year in the NFL, leading the Texans to the playoffs.

However, Young appears to be making strides this offseason, and those around the Panthers organization reportedly believe he’s ready for a bounce-back year in Year 2. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler spoke about Young’s offseason during SportsCenter Saturday morning.

“You see Dave Canales there, the first-year head coach for Carolina, working with Bryce Young, trying to get the best out of him after a struggling rookie year,” Fowler said. “I’m told that he made two-to-three ‘wow’ throws every day, though. Play-action looked good. Was football mature. Took the checkdown when he needed.”

Canales is entering his first season as the Panthers head coach after serving as the offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2023. He was hired in part to help Bryce Young become a successful NFL quarterback. There is still work to do, but Young appears to at least be making positive steps.

“The big transition now is Canales’ system. Can he get the footwork, the nuances down? That will come in training camp,” Fowler said of Young.

Dave Canales: Bryce Young expects to be best player in NFL

Young gritted out a two-win season as a rookie, results that would have been anathema to him pre-NFL, back when he was leading Alabama. Canales, whose expertise is working with quarterbacks, says that in Young, he sees the same guy from the Crimson Tide. Same attitude, same ability, same aura.

“When I watched him at Alabama for all those years, whether it was one of their early games where they’re running somebody out of a stadium or whether it was a game late in the year, he’s got the same effect in those moments,” Canales told CBS Sports. “He’s the same way when it comes about his work. So I know that there’s going to be a measure of him just feeling certain games out.

“But he’s a guy that has been the best player in high school. The best player in college. So he expects to be the best player again.”