Panthers GM reveals when he knew Bryce Young was his No. 1 pick

It turns out there wasn't much drama regarding the Carolina Panthers selecting one of four quarterbacks with the first pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. 

Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer told Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio he knew he wanted to take Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Bryce Young via choice No. 1 following a dinner that occurred the night before the signal-caller completed his pro day workout in March. 

"...You’re sitting there at dinner, you’re just looking at this guy, and I’m thinking in my head the whole time, 'OK, is this the right guy for us? Is this the guy we want kind of being our face? Is he the one we want leading our team in the huddle when it’s the fourth quarter?' And you have all these questions in your head as you’re sitting at dinner just watching him talk to other people," Fitterer explained. "And that’s kind of the moment that I had personally where I thought, 'OK, this is the guy. This is the guy that we want leading the team.'" 

It was reported shortly before the draft got underway that Young and C.J. Stroud of the Ohio State Buckeyes were "the primary targets" for the Panthers starting with the day they landed the No. 1 pick from the Chicago Bears. 

Whispers about Carolina possibly selecting Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Will Levis or Florida Gators product Anthony Richardson had all but disappeared before last Thursday night, and Fitterer indicated he only had one player atop his overall board throughout the final month leading up to the draft. 

"You feel the presence of the player, just like the command that they have," Fitterer continued about Young. "As he’s sitting there at dinner, he was so poised and you’re like...if (head coach Frank Reich) and I am saying, 'This is the guy, we’re putting him in the huddle, game’s on the line.' Bryce is the guy we want our players looking at, knowing this is the guy that can get it done for us. We can win with this guy. And I think that’s kind of where that social part overlaps in the football side when you get to know the person and not just the player."

Fitterer told Florio everyone involved "really didn’t decide until the Monday prior to the draft" they were taking Young, but the executive ultimately painted a different picture with the pre-pro day dinner story. One wonders how much that meal helped ease Fitterer's mind about Young measuring in at 5-foot-10 1/8 and 204 pounds at the combine.