Nearly two months ago, the Panthers benched Bryce Young. It was supposed to be a premature end to a seismic sports catastrophe. The former Heisman Trophy winner was selected first in the 2023 NFL Draft, thanks to owner Dave Tepper’s infatuation with the University of Alabama superstar. The franchise, still reeling from the post-Cam Newton era, looked to Young to spearhead a revival.
After 18 games at the helm, Young was a disaster. He was the punchline to every joke Monday morning and showed so few signs of promise it was hard for even his most prominent supporters to defend him. His more diminutive stature seemed to be an insurmountable deficit. Paired with substandard arm talent and athleticism, it got to the point where it was hard to point to what, if anything, he was doing at an above-average level.
First-year coach Dave Canales suggested the benching was temporary, and Young would get a second shot—coaches often lie, and it was safe to say this seemed like a fib. Then Canales was forced to give Young another chance after starter Andy Dalton was involved in a car accident.
Young has been 2-2 since getting back under center, which matches his entire win total from last season. He’s been far from perfect, but he looks like a totally different player. He’s been more confident under duress in the pocket. Young is not putting the ball in harm’s way on every dropback and is taking and making the easy reads. In his last outing, he took Patrick Mahomes and the dynasty Chiefs to the brink, and for the first time as a pro, Young is receiving heaps of optimistic praise.
Is this stretch just a blip on the radar, or is this the start of an incredible bounce back? With the fantasy playoffs around the corner, this is the question on plenty of manager’s minds. It’s vital to not buy too much into the initial hype.
Fade Bryce Young on the Waiver Wire
The Bryce Young mini-resurgence has been inspirational. The league can never have enough young, exciting signal callers. His short-accuracy and understanding of the position have vastly improved, and he feels sustainable.
These leaps he’s making still are not translating to fantasy output. By all accounts, he was phenomenal against Kansas City. He had the second-most passing yards of his career, didn’t turn the ball over, and led his offense to 27 points against one of the league’s most fearsome defenses. Young’s success was less prevalent in the red zone, only mustering up a pair of touchdown drives.
The aspiration for more goalline trips is feasible, but running back Chuba Hubbard will be a vulture near the pylons. This squad wants to set up the rushing attack to unlock play action and easier attempts for Young, and Hubbard has reaped the benefits in scoring territory.
Young has only scored more than 16 fantasy points once in the campaign and has consistently resided in the 8-12 range. That’s simply not going to cut it—even as a bench option or in more expanded leagues. Someone like Will Levis or Drake Maye, who are widely available, offers a much more tantalizing upside because they are gunslingers with more consistent volume.
In DFS formats, Bryce Young should only be considered in a solid matchup if his assigned salary is next to nothing. He is getting better each week, but he needs to string together some more quality outings before becoming fantasy-relevant.
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