(Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
The Carolina Panthers didn’t have much going on for them last season.
Bryce Young was a beacon of hope, and everybody was excited to see what the No. 1 pick in the draft could do.
Nonetheless, his struggles aside, it’s not easy to thrive behind a depleted offensive line and with little-to-no talent around you.
The Panthers’ offense struggled mightily, and while Young had plenty to do with that, it’s not like his teammates gave him a lot to work with.
To put it in context, NFL analyst Mina Kimes pointed out a rather shocking stat.
The Panthers only had 17% of their throws under 10 yards go to open receivers, which ranked dead last in the league last season.
From @SportsCenter: One damning stat that explains much of the Panthers’ struggles last year, and why I think the team did a good job addressing it this offseason pic.twitter.com/3V9f8N8CLy
— Mina Kimes (@minakimes) June 8, 2024
For comparison, the San Francisco 49ers — who ranked No. 1 — had 34% of their throws under 10 yards go to open receivers.
With that in mind, Kimes believes the Panthers should fare significantly better in that regard next season, as they drafted a speedster in Xavier Legette and also traded for an elite route-runner like Diontae Johnson.
Also, with Dave Canales now calling the shots in Charlotte, his focus should be on improving the offense and also developing their young quarterback.
The Alabama product left plenty to be desired in his rookie campaign and concerns about his size — or lack thereof — will never go away.
Still, the talent was most definitely there, and his job should be significantly easier in his second season, not to mention he’s finally gotten a glimpse of the NFL speed and game.
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