Fantasy Upside
Bryce Young put a bow on a phenomenal college career at Alabama with being the number one overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. Young won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 and had a combined 79 touchdown passes and just 12 interceptions over his two seasons as a starter. Young will have a strong coaching staff and some interesting weapons around him in Carolina. D.J. Chark, Adam Thielen, and second-round rookie Jonathan Mingo are quality targets with upside and some veteran savvy, and the offensive line made strides in 2022 with the drafting of first-rounder Ikem Ekwonu. Young profiles as a dual-threat player, despite rushing for a mere 185 yards last season - though he did score four rushing touchdowns. The Panthers are hoping Young will make an immediate impact given all they gave up to draft him, and he has a better supporting cast then most highly-selected rookie quarterbacks.
Fantasy Downside
For all the excitement in Carolina, these are all brand new pieces. New coaches, new receivers, new starting running back in Miles Sanders, and even a new tight end in Hayden Hurst can spell some growing pains for the offense as a whole. While Young was touted as one of the most pro-ready passers from the football IQ side of things, he is still a rookie. Young also is much smaller than most starting quarterbacks, measuring in at 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds at the combine. With that size, concerns about durability abound.
2023 Bottom Line
We have Young ranked as a low-end QB2 option heading into the season. That’s a conservative ranking based on his lack of experience and a lack of knowledge about what this brand new Carolina offense is going to look like. That said, it’s hard to imagine any of the other players being drafted around him carrying the same level of upside. Fantasy managers should consider him as a late-round, high-upside option in two-quarterback leagues, or as part of a wait-on-a-quarterback two-pronged approach to the position in one-quarterback formats.