It’s not always easy being a short king. Carolina Panthers Quarterback Bryce Young knows that better than anyone. The Panthers bet on their future by moving up to select the 5-foot-9 quarterback in the 2023 NFL Draft, but his rookie year was a disaster and Carolina used him again with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Chicago Bears Young is just 22, but he will report to training camp and enter a big second year in Carolina.
Young is a small man even by everyday standards. Carolina’s official roster lists him as 5-foot-10 and 204 pounds, but even that feels like a stretch. Young’s small size is always the first thing people talk about, and his participation in the Panthers’ training camp only reinforces that. Here’s a video of Young walking into camp, feeling more like a kid returning to school for the first time than a former No. 1 NFL draft pick on the cusp of a breakout season.
Even Young’s body language here has a first-day-of-school vibe: He’s oblivious to the camera, he just wants it to go wherever he’s going. The backpack, the guardrail pulled up to his chest…it’s all sulky teenager vibes.
Young is a real talent, and his disappointing rookie season isn’t entirely his fault. The Panthers let him down in many ways, and the immediate promotion of No. 2 draft pick CJ Stroud didn’t help him either. Carolina acquired veteran wide receiver Diontay Johnson during the offseason and also spent heavily on the offensive line. The investment in Young has been made, but now he needs to prove he can really make the leap.
Smaller quarterbacks can be very good — just look at Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson and Fran Tarkenton — and all kidding aside, watching Young flourish in his second season.
