Bryce Young bets to go No. 1 overall are no longer particularly appealing, as odds currently indicate the Panthers taking someone else first overall would be a major surprise. Carolina GM Scott Fitterer attempted to slow down the Young-to-Charlotte train Tuesday.
The third-year Panthers GM said the team has not determined its choice atop the draft and made the interesting confession he has not asked Frank Reich for his opinion yet. Carolina does expect to finalize its decision this week, and while the team brought sizable staff contingents to pro days, Fitterer said (via the Associated Press’ Steve Reed) he and Reich will make the final call.
“The reason I didn’t want to ask [Reich] that question was I didn’t want to close off our minds to where we, like, made that decision back in March,” Fitterer said, via ESPN.com’s David Newton. “But we do see things the same way. We value the same traits, the same characteristics. There’s certain things we really want, and that’s where the clarity comes from.”
Although Reich took this job after seeing quarterback instability define his previous gig, the veteran HC is not expected to insist on one of this draft’s passers. The Panthers parted with several assets — including D.J. Moore and their 2024 first-round pick — to move up eight spots for the top pick. Fitterer said the team continues to discuss Anthony Richardson and Will Levis, who has joined Stroud on a pre-draft visit Tuesday, but Newton notes Young and C.J. Stroud were the two QBs the Panthers were targeting when they made the March deal with the Bears.
Midway through Carolina’s process, the team was still at a Stroud-or-Young decision. But the Alabama prospect has surged since. Concerns about Young’s height have kept Stroud in the mix, but Fitterer voiced a stance on this matter that will only strengthen the Panthers-Young ties.
“This doesn’t seem to be an issue,” Fitterer said of Young’s 5-foot-10 stature. “When you grow up a shorter quarterback, you learn how to evolve your game and adapt and see the field. He’s done that.”
Fitterer, who was in Seattle when the Seahawks gave Russell Wilson the QB1 reins ahead of his rookie season, said Young has added lower-body strength over the course of his Crimson Tide career. Young weighed 204 pounds at the Combine but did not hop on the scale during his pro day, injecting more frame-related questions. The Panthers appear to prefer Young add some bulk to his frame, but the undersized QB remains the favorite to be taken first overall.
Young canceled his remaining visits ahead of Wednesday’s deadline, and while Fitterer said that was unrelated to a potential Panthers pick, nothing has blunted the former Heisman winner’s momentum. Young is believed to have extensive support in the team’s building, and multiple reports indicated the Panthers have zeroed in on Mac Jones‘ Crimson Tide successor for weeks. The former Ohio State superstar is now uncertain to be picked second.
The Panthers have not received much interest in their No. 1 pick, and Fitterer said the team should be expected to stay where it is. Nothing the veteran exec said Tuesday should remove Young from his place as the favorite to end up in Charlotte.
How do you give up so much for the number 1 pick without knowing who you want? This franchise is laughably inept.
I highly doubt that they don’t know who they want. They are under no obligations to tell anyone their strategy or the picks they will be making and it would be “laughably inept” for them to show their cards. Plus, you never know what could happen in the next 10 days. Any number of things from a player getting hurt from a stupid accident to someone dying are technically possible. In their position, they need to plan for all possible scenarios and revealing who they’d prefer to draft right now only prohibits them from doing this.
There’s too much smoke too close to the draft for there not to be fire, IMO. It’s Young. The league wants the drama and debate, they don’t want the team picking #1 to give it away early.
Sometimes it’s just too painfully obvious that there’s no point, like with Trevor Lawrence, but usually it’s not.
The GM denying that they have even decided is the best way to keep everyone guessing.
Why would they come out and say this guy is our pick? They need to keep teams picking behind them guessing. The only thing “laughable inept” is your take.
If they gave up that asking and end up taking Richardson or Levis then that GM should be shown the door.
It’s hard to say that before any of them have played an NFL QB. Would anyone have picked Purdy to have the best year of the rookie QBs?
Maybe Bezos can buy the entire proposed European expansion…