The Bryce is right: Panthers pick Young, who has a chance to lead them to Super Bowl

The night was still Young for the Carolina Panthers on Thursday, as the team made one of the most significant draft picks in franchise history.

Bryce Young, who won a Heisman Trophy at Alabama, was the expected choice and the right choice for the Panthers, who gulped, made peace with his 5-foot-10 height and decided that Young at No. 1 gave them the best chance to get them back to the Super Bowl.

Young’s selection occurred in Kansas City, where he walked across the stage, shook the hand of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and immediately became the new face of the Panthers’ franchise. Young wore a mauve suit with no tie to the draft, looking as calm and cool on the stage as Carolina fans hope he will be when he’s scrambling around on Bank of America’s artificial turf.

It was the correct move for the Panthers, who have been stuck in NFL purgatory since 2017, the last season they made the playoffs and not coincidentally the last season Cam Newton was still in his prime and fully healthy.

Carolina gave up four draft picks and wide receiver DJ Moore to move up from No. 9 to No. 1 in March in a trade for Chicago, but Young was a worthy gamble. If the Panthers are going to fail, they are going to fail while daring to be great.

Panthers owner David Tepper was asked what Young’s draft selection means to the team in front of the crowd that gathered for the Panthers’ draft party. “You really want me to say it?” Tepper said. “Super Bowls!” The crowd, predictably, went into a frenzy.

Young wasn’t about to take that bait Thursday night, saying repeatedly in a series of press conferences that he appreciated Tepper’s confidence but staying far away from making any promises himself.

“For me I’m going to try to take it day by day,” Young said. “I’m going to try to focus on whatever those team goals are. Once I get there, we can iron those out.” Young is supposed to arrive in Charlotte on Friday.

Young did use the word “super” himself, albeit in different ways, on Thursday. At different times in Kansas City on Thursday night, he proclaimed himself to be “super-grateful,” “super-excited” and “super-happy.”

I don’t question any of Young’s abilities except one — his durability.

That will be the key. If the 5-foot-10, 204-pound (at best) Young can stay healthy, I believe the Panthers can and will win. He’s a magical player, and he’s joining a franchise and a fan base that has sort of forgotten what magic looks like.

“I can’t grow,” Young said Wednesday, the day before the draft. But he can do so much else it often doesn’t seem to matter.

Comparing Young to Russell Wilson, the former N.C. State quarterback and also an undersized QB, is legitimate. That’s the high end for Young.

With the right coaching, nutritional plan and supporting cast, Young can win a Super Bowl. NFL drafts are already about hope. With this pick, the Panthers bought themselves a bushel of it.

This story was originally published April 27, 2023 at 8:20 PM with the headline "The Bryce is right: Panthers pick Young, who has a chance to lead them to Super Bowl."

Scott Fowler

The Charlotte Observer

704-358-5136

Columnist Scott Fowler has written for The Charlotte Observer since 1994 and has earned 26 APSE awards for his sportswriting. He hosted The Observer’s podcast “Carruth,” which Sports Illustrated once named “Podcast of the Year.” Fowler also conceived and hosted the online series and podcast “Sports Legends of the Carolinas,” which featured 1-on-1 interviews with NC and SC sports icons and was turned into a book. He occasionally writes about non-sports subjects, such as the 5-part series “9/11/74,” which chronicled the forgotten plane crash of Eastern Air Lines Flight 212 in Charlotte on Sept. 11, 1974. Support my work with a digital subscription