The Athletic’s Joe Person reports an anonymous Panthers source said Bryce Young’s footwork at the end of the 2024 season was “light years” ahead of where it was at the start of the year.
Panthers coaches worked primarily on Young’s footwork and drop backs while he ran the scout team after being benched in late September for Andy Dalton. For more than a month, Carolina coaches helped “to refine Young’s footwork and drill into him the importance of urgency in the huddle and pre-snap operation, which Dalton helped demonstrate.” Coaches addressed Young’s habit of jump-passing, which had proved disastrous over the first two games of the season. The result was a far more confident second-year quarterback who showed immense improvement over the final seven games of the 2024 season. Only six quarterbacks had a higher completion rate over expected than Young From Week 11-18. He ended the year with a 251-yard, three-touchdown outing against the Falcons in an upset victory for Carolina. Young, against many odds, has positioned himself as the Panthers’ clear Week 1 starter in 2025.