The optimism here may be a confluence of hope and reason
Bryce Young is the pin up which the Carolina Panthers and their fans are hanging all of their hopes for the 2025 season. Improvements in the draft and free agency to their defense will all be for naught if the third year quarterback comes out with another dud opener. Fortunately for Young, the Panthers, and those of us at home, that seems highly unlikely.
We asked which Panthers star player fans expected to take the biggest step forward this season and a resounding majority of y’all said Young. His remarkable journey last year where he went from warming benches to going toe to toe with the best quarterbacks in the league has inspired hope in this team.
Young passed the eye test in his return to play with flying colors and has since been popping up in deeper statistical analysis of the season with little but encouraging numbers. That, more than anything, is driving a cautions surge in optimism among fans.
Most of us have been in a “I’ll believe it when I see it” mentality since the middle days of Matt Rhule and not even Dave Canales’ famously infectious optimism was able to change that alone. But seeing a quarterback play well, seeing that backed up by numbers and a constant stream of confident comment from his teammates? Well, that’s something that’s hard to ignore.
And, since it’s June, why don’t we all jump down to the comments and start with wild predictions for Young’s 2025 stats. Screw being realistic, let’s really go for the moon with things like double digit touchdown predictions or two game winning streaks. Let us know your thoughts and your dreams down below.