Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young struggled mightily last year in his rookie season. His struggles were made worse by the Panthers having a lackluster supporting cast around him, and magnified by Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud having a Rookie of the Year performance with his supporting cast.
The struggles have led some to question whether the Panthers made the right choice in the 2023 NFL Draft, and have led some analysts to rank Young among the worst starting quarterbacks in the league heading into the 2024 season. However, Young has seemingly earned the respect of his peers despite his subpar first season.
According to a new poll from ESPN, Bryce Young has been named among the most underrated quarterbacks in the league. ESPN polled more than 100 players across the league and asked for their opinions on a number of questions relating to the quarterbacks around the league. One of the questions they were asked was who they thought was the most underrated quarterback in the league.
To come up with the top quarterbacks for each question, the answers were weighted, with number one receiving 3 points, number 2 getting two points, and number 3 getting just one point. When it came to the most underrated quarterback, San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was named the most underrated, with 14 points. Bryce Young finished tied for third in the voting, along with Atlanta Falcons’ Kirk Cousins, Detroit Lions’ Jared Goff, and Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love.
Carolina has made a concerted effort this off-season to improve the weapons around Young, adding wide receivers Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette to the fold in an effort to improve the team’s passing attack. If all goes well for Young and the Panthers this season, maybe the young quarterback will start to get the recognition he deserves and will find himself properly rated going into 2025.