Carolina Panthers vet offers early impressions of Bryce Young

The Carolina Panthers decided to mortgage their future on the gifted right arm of former Alabama star Bryce Young. They spent plenty of draft capital plus wide receiver D.J. Moore, to go up and get the man they think will carry their franchise for several years. Young piled up the accolades during his prolific career with the Alabama Crimson Tide and his calm, cool, and unflappable demeanor was always easy to see with his play on the field. Carolina Panthers safety Xavier Woods went on NFL Total Access on NFL Network on Thursday afternoon to offer his early impressions of the former Crimson Tide star.

He noted that Young has an impressive swagger, but it’s mixed with a level of humility. “Just the swagger. Just his persona. How he carries [himself]. Just not only in the weight room, but on the practice field. Man, he’s got that solid swagger. You can definitely tell that he knows that he’s top tier. But he’s humble with it, man,” Woods said.

Woods also said that he doesn’t have any concerns about Young handling the enormous amount of pressure that comes with being the No. 1 overall selection in the NFL Draft. “Being a first-round draft pick, it’s gonna come with a lot of expectations and whatnot, but I’m pretty sure he knows that he can carry it, just in the way he carries himself and it shows,” Woods said.

During his time at Alabama, Bryce Young cemented himself as one of the best quarterbacks in school history. He’s been a remarkable player at every turn of his football career thus far, and he’ll be expected to do the same in the National Football League.

Bryce Young was one of the best quarterbacks in CFB history

Young began his career with the Crimson Tide in 2020 as the primary backup to Mac Jones. He got his first year of starting experience during the 2021 season, and he didn’t disappoint. That season, Young completed 66.9 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for 4,872 yards with 47 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Young’s dominant 2021 season led to him winning the Heisman Trophy in a landslide, getting 684 first-place votes. The next closest competitor was Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who garnered 78 first-place votes.

Entering the 2022 season, Young was viewed as one of the top two quarterbacks in the 2023 NFL Draft, alongside Ohio State‘s CJ Stroud. Young was dealt a shoulder injury during the 2022 season that limited him at times and held him out of an early October contest against Texas A&M. That was the only week Young was held out of, though, and he returned the following week against Tennessee and threw for 455 yards and two touchdowns.

Overall, Young completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 3,328 yards with 32 touchdowns and five interceptions this season. He also added 185 yards and four touchdowns rushing. Young led Alabama to a 45-20 victory over Kansas State in the Sugar Bowl.

On3’s Jonathan Wagner also contributed to this article.