Panthers' Frank Reich talks drafting Bryce Young over C.J. Stroud

Head coach Frank Reich insists he has no regrets about the Carolina Panthers drafting quarterback Bryce Young first overall instead of C.J. Stroud, who landed with the Houston Texans via pick No. 2. 

"My eyes and our eyes were on Bryce Young from start to finish," Reich explained during a news conference ahead of this Sunday's game between the 0-6 Panthers and 3-3 Texans at Carolina's Bank of America Stadium, per Joseph Person of The Athletic. "You look at the film. You talk to the man. You get a sense for the leader, the player and what he is and what he can be and how he fits to what we want to do … we got the guy for us." 

Young and Stroud have thus far experienced vastly different starts to their NFL journeys. As shown by ESPN stats, Young began Thursday ranked last in the entire league among qualified players with a 32.1 adjusted QBR on the season. Across his first five games, he tossed six touchdown passes and four interceptions. 

To compare, Stroud ended Week 7 ranked 16th with a 57.0 adjusted QBR. He threw just a single interception and recorded nine touchdown passes over Houston's first six games, and he guided the club to three victories over its past four contests heading into the final weekend of October. 

"We got the guy we wanted to get and couldn’t be happier about that — in every way," Reich said. "I’m happy for C.J. He’s had six good games and I have no doubt he’ll have many more good games. But I know this when it comes to evaluating quarterbacks or any position, it’s years not weeks." 

As of Thursday afternoon, OddsChecker listed Stroud as the overwhelming betting favorite at -175 odds to earn Offensive Rookie of the Year honors. Meanwhile, concerns regarding Young possibly being too small to thrive at the highest level continue to hover over his status leading up to Halloween. 

"You can’t put a label on a guy after six weeks or even a year," Reich continued. "I’ve seen guys have Pro Bowl seasons and then a year later fighting to be a backup somewhere else. It’s a crazy league. What we’re looking for not just from our quarterback but at every position is sustained success at a high level for a very long time. And you can’t measure it in weeks." 

History shows that Young eventually will have to catch up to Stroud for Reich to keep his job in Carolina beyond a second season into such an experiment. For now, the Young-Reich partnership must first concentrate on erasing the zero that exists in the team's win column. 

OddsChecker had the Panthers as three-point underdogs against the Texans as of early Thursday afternoon.