ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler makes bold prediction on Bryce Young in third NFL season

A first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young stumbled out of the gate for the Carolina Panthers. After picking things up and showing some improvement in his second season, however, expectations are growing for his third professional season.

ESPN insider Jeremy Fowler appeared on Get Up on Monday. There, he boldly predicted that with an improved running game that Young could throw for 4,000 yards next season, which would constitute a major breakout for the young quarterback.

“I’ve got Bryce Young as a sneaky 4,000-yard passer this year,” Jeremy Fowler said. “Assuming Carolina gets that running game going, which they plan to, then the throwing windows will be there and Young will deliver.”

Bryce Young has struggled statistically through his first two seasons, in which he played 30 games. Completing 60.3 percent of his passes, he’s thrown for 5,280 yards and 26 touchdowns with 19 interceptions for his career. That a 17-game average of 2,992 yards and 15 touchdowns. So, not only would he need to play a full season for the first time, he’d also need to take a massive leap forward statistically to hit the mark Fowler has set for him.

At the same time, Fowler also noted a concern that has surrounded Young since college. He’s short by NFL quarterback standards, which Fowler does think will put a ceiling on him. So, he’s going to need that help around him, like a running game opening up passing lanes.

“He’s got a ceiling. The size is an issue. I hate to deduce it to that,” Fowler said. “But when I look at my top 10 list, all those quarterbacks are bigger than him. The top eight are a lot bigger than him. So, how far can he take it, is my question. But the confidence was ultra high later in the year. Dave Canales sensed that. So, they’re going to keep giving him more and more throws.”

4,000-yard seasons tend to be rare, even in a much more open era for passing the football in the NFL. In 2024, only six quarterbacks hit that mark. All of the quarterbacks who did so played in all 17 games for the season.

Bryce Young does have a few things going for him in 2025. It’s his second season under head coach Dave Canales, who is now developing a reputation of being a quarterback whisperer. That connection should be improved and he has more time to learn a system. On top of that, Carolina appears to be much improved at wide receiver. So, even though it’s a tall task, Young has the tools to strive for the goal of 4,000 yards.