Frank Reich addresses how Bryce Young is handling high expectations

The expectations are unsurprisingly high for Carolina Panthers quarterback Bryce Young heading into his rookie year.

Young, the 2021 Heisman Trophy winner, was the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft. The last three No. 1 overall picks who have been quarterbacks — Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow and Trevor Lawrence — have all made their mark in the NFL in a very short period of time. People expect Young to do the same.

While it is definitely the leading cause of the expectations placed upon him, the pressure of being a No. 1 overall pick is not the only thing that heights the expectations of Young. There is also the fact he is competing against the other quarterback selected in the first four picks of the draft in CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson. The Panthers also have a shot to make the playoffs as the NFC South is in a state of flux.

Carolina head coach Frank Reich said Young is handling all that pressure on his shoulders in a professional manner, which is how they expected of him.

“The way he should, right?” Reich said on NFL Network. “That’s all of our expectations. When you’re the No. 1 pick of the draft, which, of course you would expect him to handle it like a pro. This isn’t his first rodeo. He’s been under pressure his whole life, had those high expectations on him his whole life. He knows and we know that we do want to win big but we also know we have to prove that day-by-day.”

Young was named the starting quarterback of the Panthers earlier this week by Reich on the first day of training camp.

He beat out veteran Andy Dalton for the starting role. Barring any change or injury, Young will join Murray, Burrow and Lawrence as the fourth straight quarterback to be selected with the No. 1 overall pick to start Week 1 of his rookie year.

“Lofty expectations aren’t something new,” Young said, via ESPN. “I took the same approach in college. I’ve always taken the same approach. I’ve had experience taking the same approach to whatever expectations are. Whatever people are talking about, it is what it is.

“It’s stuff that I can’t control, and making sure that my teammates, my coaches, what we set in the building, that’s who I listen to. That’s the expectations that we come up with together and build together as a team, and sticking to that. I’ve had experience doing that in the past. So it’ll be obviously a different level of different challenges, but I’ll keep the same mindset.”