Bryce Young authored an abbreviated preseason debut, highlighting concerns about the Carolina Panthers' offensive line more so than revealing anything about his potential.
The No. 1 overall pick participated in 11 plays over three drives in Saturday's 27-0 loss to the New York Jets. Young completed 4 of 6 passes for 21 yards, took one sack, and was popped a couple of other times.
"Obviously, we had a little too much pressure at times," Panthers head coach Frank Reich said after the game. "Bryce was accurate, he got rid of the ball quickly. We had to try to overcome some bad field positions, which we did not do. We got our second drive, we're backed up there, pretty much. Those are great situations, we talk about this all the time. Let's get the tough situations in and put ourselves to the test. We had a couple of those today. We didn't pass those tests, but those are good to learn from."
Despite the pressure, Young showed poise in the pocket and wasn't rattled. On his first pass, he calmly went through the progression to hit Adam Thielen on the back side for an 8-yard gain, the club's only first down in three drives. On the next snap, the QB zipped a quick strike to D.J. Chark. All of Young's completions were short or behind the line of scrimmage, with only one attempt downfield.
Young went 0 of 2 on third-down passes, sailing a ball high to Chark once under pressure, and Laviska Shenault Jr. ran his route too deep on the other. On the final third down, the QB was swarmed for a sack.
"I mean, that's part of the game, of course," Young said of taking hits from the Jets pass rush. "Football is a physical sport. It's part of the job description, you're going to get hit, and again, that's the game we play. So, you know, it's part of the job.
"Can't let that affect your decision-making or what you're going through. For me, that's part of the game. It happens, and I'm just focused on the next play and just trying to make sure I execute every time I get a chance to out there."
The rookie's calmness in the pocket and ability to get through the progression is positive, but the outing was too brief for any big takeaways. He did display his toughness, though.
"Obviously, that first hit was pretty big, right?" Reich said. "I mean, that first hit was pretty big. I asked him on the sideline, kind of in the second. I waited until the second half. I said, 'Well, that was a pretty good welcome to the NFL hit. How'd that one feel?' And he said he was fine. He said he barely felt it, so I don't know."
The struggles of the offensive line undercut Young's debut. Despite playing four starters, Carolina got no push in the run game, and the QB was regularly pressured. The right guard spot is a clear issue, at least until Austin Corbett returns from the physically unable to perform list. The Panthers rotated the RG position during Young's three drives, with Michael Jordan giving up the sack.
Facing a deep Jets defensive line, which sat its starters, will make plenty of offenses look silly this season.
Young entered the NFL with questions about his slender frame. While that wasn't an issue in college, and the Panthers' staff has wholly rejected concerns, the struggles of the offensive line Saturday will reconjure those questions.
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