Why is Bryce Young having his best Panthers camp? Confidence, composure top the list

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Carolina Panthers quarterbacks have made a lot of headlines in recent days, and none of them involved Bryce Young.

Kenny Pickett started the first preseason game and led a touchdown drive on his third series. Haynes King took over for Pickett, took over the game and then went from Hall of Fame Game hero to the injured list.

Former Florida and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask was signed in the wake of King’s hamstring injury and showed up Sunday wearing Andy Dalton’s old No. 14 jersey.

Meanwhile, Young was relegated to a new space — in the background. The 2021 Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft led the Panthers’ offense through a half-speed, pregame practice in Canton, Ohio, then walked off Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium wearing a big smile after King’s game-winning touchdown.

Young and his teammates were back on the practice fields Sunday morning, when Young resumed what has been an exceptional training camp. He has fired darts to Tetairoa McMillan in the back of the end zone, feathered a touch pass to a well-covered Ja’Tavion Sanders along the sideline and slipped out of the pocket and found receivers on off-platform plays.

It’s too bad fans haven’t been able to see it.

Now in his third year in the Dave Canales/Brad Idzik offense, Young has the look of a composed quarterback who knows where the ball is supposed to go and knows he’s going to get it there.

“Just being here for the last year and a half, I’d say he just seems more comfortable,” said Mitchell Evans, the second-year tight end. “Even from when I first got here to now, he seems more confident in himself. And just the way he carries himself, he’s got more of a presence. And you can see that reflected on the field and even in the locker room and throughout the building. You can see he’s more confident.”

Young has come a long way since his five-game benching in 2024 during Canales’ first season in Charlotte. He’s improved each of the past two seasons, though he’s still a ways away from being considered among the league’s top quarterbacks.

In The Athletic’s Mike Sando’s annual quarterback rankings — based on polling of 50 executives and coaches — Young landed in the third of four tiers and ranked 22nd among 35 QBs. That was a slight improvement from 2025 when Young ranked 24th.

Like Evans, at least one coach polled by Sando saw a more confident quarterback.

“His command, his confidence, his accuracy, the movement — he just seemed so much more confident as a player,” said the coach, whose team played the Panthers in the second half of the 2025 season. “It was an eye-opener for all of us to watch him perform. It reflected in their team.”

The Panthers view Young as an ascending player but aren’t ready to pay him quite yet. The team plans to let Young play out this season before deciding on a second contract.

Inconsistency has helped hold Young back. But with a solid cast of playmakers around him, led by McMillan, the 2025 Offensive Rookie of the Year, maybe this is the year Young makes a big leap in his development.

“I try to feed off the people around me. All of us are pushing each other, wanting to be at our best,” Young said Sunday. “Coaching staff challenging me, challenging all of us to take that next step system-wise. It’s just about having that growth mindset.

“For me, I just try to be where my feet are, make sure I’m focused. Whatever happens in the future, happens in the future. When you start thinking about that, you’re not able to focus on where you’re at.”

Where Young will be this weekend is Buffalo, where he’ll help break in the Bills’ new $2.1 billion stadium. Young will be more of an active participant than he was in Canton: Canales said he plans to play Young and the other starters between 10 and 20 reps, depending on how the offensive possessions play out.

If Young’s rep count turns out to be on the high side, he could eclipse his playing time for all of last preseason. Young played two series in the first two exhibitions (totaling 20 snaps) before sitting out the final tune-up against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

“I’m excited just to be able to go out there with the guys. Any time you get to play football live in a stadium, it’s a privilege,” he said. “Especially being able to go out there last week, you’re around it. Obviously I wasn’t playing, but you get that itch again.”

The Panthers will practice three more times before flying to Buffalo, giving Young three more chances to best the defense in the competitions that Canales stages during team periods. Young has been on the winning side in a lot of them, not that he’s spent much time rehashing them.

Nor was Young interested in discussing his strong camp and what it might mean for the season to come.

“I’m not a big sit back, reflect, compare (person). Doesn’t really do anything for me. So I don’t think about the past like that,” he said. “I’m happy with the camp we’re having so far. I’m happy with the growth as a unit. But it’s still early. We’ve got a lot more to do.”