Blink and you might miss him.
Bryce Young kicked off his NFL career at the Panthers’ rookie camp on Friday, though the 5-foot-10 quarterback seemed to be a little … overshadowed … by his offensive line.
Wearing a red No. 9 jersey, Young, the first pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, disappeared among the likes of Ricky Lee (6-foot-5), Chandler Zavala (6-foot-5), J.D. Direnzo (6-foot-6) and Nash Jensen (6-foot-4).
One of the few knocks on Young entering the draft was his smaller size — at 204 pounds, he was the first QB under 207 taken in the first round since 2003.
“The Bryce Youngs don’t come around very often where you get somebody that — doesn’t fit all the specs but — is supremely talented,” NFL Network analyst Daniel Jeremiah, a former scout for the Eagles, Ravens and Browns, said before the draft. “I just thought he has the best tape of anybody in this class. Everything he does on-schedule, off-schedule, accuracy, poise, ball placement, play-making ability, being great in those big clutch moments late in games, managing games, all that stuff is off the charts.”
He was by far the smallest of the top pass-throwers taken in the draft, with the likes of C.J. Stroud, Anthony Richardson and Will Levis towering over Young in comparison.
Even if there were any lingering concerns about his size, the Bryce Young package was tantalizing enough for Carolina to make him its centerpiece.
“It was unanimous with every guy in that room, starting from Scott [Fitterer] on down, that Bryce was the guy,” Panthers head coach Fred Reich said at the draft. “That was great for me to hear.
“It wasn’t much convincing. You just watch the tape, there’s a lot said about the size. At the end of the day, there’s a lot of factors that go into it but we’re coaches, we’re scouts, we watch the tape and when you watch the tape Bryce Young is the best player.”
