Bryce Young Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

Production & Fantasy Finishes

Young followed a rough rookie season with an even rougher start to 2024. He totaled just 245 passing yards with 0 TDs and three INTs on 4.4 yards per attempt over the first two games of last season.

Young was benched for QB Andy Dalton for the next five games. He took back over in Week 8 and played much better the rest of the way.

Over his final 10 games, Young averaged:

• 210.4 passing yards
• 1.5 passing TDs
• 0.6 INTs
• 22.3 rushing yards
• 0.5 rushing TDs

Young ranked 17th among QBs in fantasy points per game over that stretch.

Efficiency Metrics

Young’s efficiency metrics improved across the board over his final 10 games vs. the first 18 of his career:

Young still ranked just 26th in completion rate and 27th in yards per attempt over those final 10 games. But he ranked sixth among 35 qualifiers in Pro Football Focus passing grade.

And, most impressively, he led those 35 QBs in PFF’s Big Time Throw Rate, which is defined as “a pass with excellent ball location and timing, generally thrown further down the field and/or into a tighter window.”

Offensive Context

The 2024 Panthers ranked 29th in total yards and 23rd in points. It was a slow-paced offense, ranking 25th in neutral pace and 31st in plays per game.

Carolina leaned toward the run, finishing 19th in pass rate over expected and 22nd in neutral pass rate. But negative game scripts boosted them to 11th in overall pass rate.

The team notably went pass-heavier in the red zone, though, ranking:

• 4th in red-zone pass rate
• 5th in red-zone pass rate over expected

That helped Carolina finish 16th in total pass TDs, despite ranking 30th in both pass yards and yards per attempt.

Young got very little help from his pass-catching corps last year. The Panthers ranked dead last in Pro Football Focus’ team receiving grades. 6.0% of Young’s passes were dropped — the 16th-highest rate among 39 qualifying QBs.

Historical Production & Trends

Young had a historically inefficient rookie season, averaging 5.5 yards per attempt with a 2.1% TD rate. Those were both bottom-12 marks among 697 QB seasons of 300+ pass attempts since 2000.

Young finished 35th among QBs in fantasy points per game in 2023.

Injury History

Young missed one game as a rookie with a sprained ankle. He also missed a game in his final college season with a sprained AC joint in his right shoulder.

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

The Panthers re-signed QB Andy Dalton to a two-year, $8 million deal this offseason. He’s a quality insurance policy in case Young reverts to 2023 form. But the youngster is locked in as Carolina’s starter to open the season.

“Bryce Young has shown enough that he is the franchise quarterback here,” HC Dave Canales said shortly after last season ended. “He’s gonna be our starter going forward. He earned that, he won that job, and took it and ran with it.”

“I think he’s just scratching the surface, and I know that he’s gonna put the work in to get better and better,” GM Dan Morgan said in January. “I’m just really excited about his future, and I’m excited for him. We all feel really good about him being our QB of the future.”

Supporting Cast

Young’s pass-catching corps has the potential to be much better in 2025.

The Panthers used the eighth overall pick of this spring’s draft on WR Tetairoa McMillan. The Arizona product turned in three strong seasons of college production, leading his team with eight receiving TDs as a true freshman and then racking up 2,721 yards and 18 TDs over the last two years.

Carolina also returns WRs Xavier Legette, Jalen Coker, and Adam Thielen. Legette had an underwhelming rookie season but is a candidate for a year-two leap after going 32nd overall in the 2023 draft. Coker went undrafted last year but flashed with 478 yards on 14.9 yards per catch across 11 games. Thielen is the veteran of the group, but the 35-year-old still has some gas in the tank. He averaged 61.5 yards per game last year, including 72.3 over his final seven games with Young.

The Panthers return all five starters from last year’s offensive line, which ranked:

• 15th in Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grades
• 30th in ESPN pass block win rate

They’ll hope to get a healthier year from C Austin Corbett, who missed the final 12 games of last season, and a step forward from fourth-year LT Ikem Ekwonu.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

HC Dave Canales and OC Brad Idzik return for their second season with the Panthers. Year one was underwhelming, but they had a lot working against them.

Canales is just a year removed from helping revive QB Baker Mayfield’s career in Tampa Bay. He also served as Seahawks QBs coach for Geno Smith’s breakout 2022 season.

Canales has deployed balanced offenses across the past two seasons. The 2023 Bucs ranked 13th with a 58.9% pass rate, and last year’s Panthers finished ninth at 58.7%.

We currently project the 2025 Panthers for a 58.5% pass rate.

Production & Efficiency Trends

Young is capable of taking another step forward as a passer this season.

He also projects for sneaky rushing production. He averaged 15.8 rushing yards per game as a rookie and 20.1 across his 12 starts last year.

Young’s 6.1 yards per carry ranks third among 35 QBs with 50+ carries over the last two seasons.