Bryce Young is taking advice from all angles as he prepares for his NFL rookie season.
The first overall pick from the 2023 NFL Draft is joining the Carolina Panthers with a ton of hype, and he’s hoping to live up to it. While Young is currently learning the franchise’s playbook, he’s also adjusting to the rigors of the next level. Luckily, he’s been prepping for them over the last couple of months.
One of the people Young has leaned on is his former Alabama teammate and current New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones. According to Young, Jones has been “super gracious” while helping him through a number of issues, and it’s helping him adjust to some new challenges better than expected.
“I want to do everything I can to set myself up to be successful and to help the franchise,” Young said, via AP Sports. “A lot of people have helped me. I’m going to keep leaning on the people who have had success and been doing it longer than I have.”
Mac Jones helped the Patriots to the playoffs during his rookie season. Can Bryce Young match that feat it Carolina? It remains to be seen, but it’s evident the Panthers got a good one in the 2023 NFL Draft.
Panthers coach Frank Reich says Bryce Young ‘made a great impression’ at minicamp
Alas, the Bryce Young era is officially underway, as the Carolina Panthers held their first rookie minicamp practice Friday.
Young, the first overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft out of Alabama, “looked the part” in his first day of team activities, head coach Frank Reich said.
“Bryce made a great impression,” Reich said, via NFL.com. “Obviously, mentally and physically, [he] looked the part in every way. Threw the ball exceedingly well. You could tell he was in a good space mentally. Really had a firm grasp on everything we asked.”
Reich added that Young showed “complete command,” and has already begun the process of developing a rapport with Jonathan Mingo — the Panthers’ second-round pick out of Ole Miss.
“I’ve been on the opposite side of Bryce for the last two years [in college] and I’m 0-2 against him, so it’s a blessing to finally be on his side,” Mingo said. “We have to keep building our chemistry and help the team win. Just keep practicing, Practicing makes us better. He’s making me better and I’m making him better.”
Young, meanwhile, called it a “huge day” for himself, and is focused on stacking up good days of practice.
“There’s still obviously a lot more about the playbook I want to learn,” Young said. “I want to get to the point to where I have it mastered… I’m going to stay in my playbook and keep trying to get better, day in and day out. But [I] also understand it’s day one of rookie minicamp. It’s a day-by-day process; we talk about it a lot as a team. Today was a good day.”
More must-reads: