The most-famous athlete in team sports shares his take on the number one overall pick getting benched after just 18 games.
Gold medallists USA’s #05 Anthony Edwards (L) and USA’s #06 LeBron James pose on the podium after the men’s Gold Medal basketball match between France and USA during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 10, 2024. (Photo by Damien MEYER / AFP) / (Photo by DAMIEN MEYER/AFP via Getty Images)
On Monday the Carolina Panthers rocked the NFL world by making a bold move at quarterback, benching former number one overall draft pick Bryce Young just two games in to the season. One interesting side-effect of the decision is that all of the sudden the Panthers are a story again, getting more media attention than any time since Cam Newton was their franchise QB five years ago.
Since the move was announced practically everybody in sports media has offered their own take on Young and the Panthers, from Jeff Saturday to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith. Last night we got yet another take, this time from LeBron James. Rather than break the decision down like analyst, James took the opportunity to share his support his fellow number one overall draft pick.
LeBron James on Bryce Young
Bryce Young hold ya head Young 🤴🏾!! Rooting for you and know this ain’t on you! Continue to put the work in and it shall prevail! 🙏🏾🫡👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) September 18, 2024
James has it at least half-right about this not being on Young. There’s no question that the Panthers organization has set Young up for failure in many ways, especially during his rookie year when they changed the offense on him three times before he played a single game at this level. However, this offseason they did make some legitimate changes to help improve his supporting cast, and the early results this season bare that out, even as Young has continued to struggle.
How Panthers have helped Bryce Young
At the top of the list is Carolina’s much-improved offensive line. The Panthers paid a pair of boatloads in free agency to bring in Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis to stabilize their guard positions. They’ve done that, and Hunt has been the highest-graded player on offense two weeks in a row. Converted center Autin Corbett is also blocking at a surprisingly high level, while Taylor Moton continues to offer consistent results at right tackle. Ickey Ekwonu is still settling in on the blindside, but he’s been far from a total liability.
Young hasn’t been able to take advantage, but the Panthers also radically upgraded their wide receiver corps since the end of last season with two trades: bringing in Diontae Johnson in a deal with the Pittsburgh Steelers and trading up to the end of the first round to pick South Carolina’s Xavier Legette in the draft.
They also hired a new head coach who’s supposed to be a quarterback whisperer in Dave Canales, who’s had success building up guys like Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield in his last two jobs. Then again, aside from the offensive line this team has looked absolutely terribly coached in all three phases so far this season.
What should Panthers do with Bryce Young?
There did seem to be some real signs of progress from Young during the preseason, as he looked better than we’ve ever seen him perform against a tough New York Jets defense in a joint practice last month. Young also looked sharp in the one preseason drive he played against the Buffalo Bills’ backups.
However, once the real games began Young shrank back into the timid, mistake-prone rookie we saw on the field last year. In fact, Young has been even worse than he was in 2023.
Pulling a number one overall pick after just 18 games is an extreme move, but Young was simply putting abominable work on film and the team had little choice but to bench him, at least for now.
The Panthers may explore potential trade candidates for Young in the coming days, but they’re not going to like the offers they get, if there are any. Letting Young stand on the sidelines a few weeks and reset his mentality is the way to go for now. If Young doesn’t get at least one more chance to start for Carolina then it’s beyond question that the organization failed him.
