Panthers insider says Bryce Young showing more comfort in key area

The red zone is where points are earned in the NFL. At times in 2024, the Carolina Panthers seemed to leave a lot of points on the board with struggles in close, which is not uncommon for a rookie head coach and such an inexperienced quarterback like Bryce Young. However, going into year three, the quarterback appears to have taken a huge step in that area.

If the Panthers are going to be good, they're going to have to score a lot of points to mitigate a still fairly weak defense. They'll have to do damage inside the 20 and not leave things up to a special teams unit that currently has no set placekicker. Fortunately, according to the Athletic's Joe Person, the quarterback has taken a leap.

"Young also showed an increased comfort level in his second year in Dave Canales’ system, especially when carving up the first-team D in the red zone," he said. That's not all, though. The Panthers QB was asked last year by Jadeveon Clowney to play with more energy.

So in 2025, Young is trash-talking Jaycee Horn and generally being much more intense. "It was Young’s intensity — and that of his teammates — that caught the eyes (and ears) of media members," Person said.

Adam Thielen even said, “We’re a bunch of guys that want it. I think guys are finally sick of being the same old, same old Carolina Panthers.” That starts and ends with Young, who so far looks like he's not going to regress and could have an excellent season in Charlotte.