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The first week of the NFL season is officially in the books for the Carolina Panthers. After suffering a 24-10 defeat to a division rival, the Atlanta Falcons, the overreactions are already out in full force. There’s no denying that #! overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young struggled in his first NFL game, as he was 20-38, for 146 yards, with one touchdown, and two interceptions. Furthermore, Young was 0-7 on passes 13 yards or further, as they struggled to move the ball through the air from start to finish.
You have to go back to 2002 to find the last #1 pick to win his first NFL start when David Carr led the expansion Houston Texans to a win over the Dallas Cowboys. There were plenty of doubters of Bryce Young upon making his NFL debut, given his small frame, and the concerns around his ability to handle hits at the NFL level. Walker Mehl, the co-host of the Wes & Walker Show, wasn’t one of those doubters and fully believed that Bryce was the right guy to lead the Panthers franchise in its next phase. After an uneven showing in the preseason and a sluggish start to his NFL career, Mehl admitted that he expected too much from the former Alabama standout. And if we were being honest with ourselves, so did we.
Now there’s no reason to think that after his struggles on Sunday, Young isn’t going to live up to his potential as the #1 pick. If anything, Sunday served as a reminder that Young is on a different journey in his football life, but given his track record, he’s not going to stop trying to become the best QB he can be.
You can catch the Wes & Walker Show every weekday from 12-3 PM on Sports Radio 92.7 WFNZ, and the WFNZ app.
Did We Expect Too Much From Bryce Young? was originally published on wfnz.com
