Panthers rookie QB Bryce Young soaking in advice from Tom Brady, Andy Dalton
Panthers coaches have routinely noted that rookie quarterback Bryce Young has a knack for processing information quickly. And taking in the right information will be essential for Young’s development during his first NFL offseason.
Lucky for Young, he has a strong group of mentors to lean on in Carolina. Along with head coach Frank Reich — a longtime former NFL quarterback — Young can count on quarterbacks coach Josh McCown and veteran quarterback Andy Dalton as vital sounding boards as he adjusts to the next level.
Young, 21, is eager to learn, and last week, he was given the opportunity to add another mentor to the list. During the NFL Rookie Transition Premiere in Los Angeles, Young — along with C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans, Anthony Richardson of the Indianapolis Colts and Will Levis of the Tennessee Titans — had an opportunity to meet with seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady.
Young didn’t want to let the opportunity go to waste, so he made sure to pepper Brady with questions.
“There’s a lot of gems, a lot of nuggets that I was able to take away,” Young said. “I was able to ask some questions about his career — kind of his mindset going towards it — and for me, obviously being a young quarterback, I wanted to know things that he wished he knew at this age, and things that he felt like were key for him to have success. I think that’s something that’s pretty invaluable, so I’m going to keep it to who was in that room, but I definitely took away a lot. Being able to talk to one of the greatest to ever do it is a huge honor and privilege — I was very grateful for that.”
Young returned to Charlotte ahead of Monday’s initial organized activities workout.
During that session, Young and Dalton split first-team reps. When Dalton was running the offense, Young made sure to study the veteran’s approach to the practice. Those mental reps — along with questions asked in the meeting room — could help accelerate Young’s development.
“I’m in there trying to pick Andy’s brain as much as I can,” Young said. “He’s a great vet — obviously, he’s had a bunch of success throughout his career — someone who is super smart, super intelligent. You see why he’s been able to have the success he’s had for such a long period of time. So, for me, it’s a great opportunity. Every day, I’m asking him a bunch of questions. I’m watching him with the operation — how his feet are, how his eyes are — when he comes back, he’ll talk and say why he went there . . . and I’m trying to soak all of that in.”
Dalton, to his credit, understands that Young will be running the show sooner rather than later. While Dalton wants to play, he also has accepted his role as Young’s peer mentor.
“Bryce’s been great from the day he got here,” Dalton said. “I think that’s the reason why we picked him, because of his makeup. Smart kid — nothing seems too big for him. He’s studied really well. He’s done a great job of learning the offense so far and being on top of everything. A natural thrower — all the stuff that you want — and I’ve been really impressed with him.”
Dalton is in the middle of his 13th NFL offseason, so he knows what to expect from a professional practice. His knowledge and experience are vital to the quarterback room, and McCown — in his first year as a position coach — has allowed Dalton to speak up in order to help prepare Young and second-year signal-caller Matt Corral for the upcoming season.
Dalton’s relationship with McCown, another former NFL quarterback, should only help the younger guys in the room.
“I’ve known Josh pretty much my whole NFL career, and we’ve been friends (since) before he got this job and I came here,” Dalton said. “It’s really cool for me to be in that room and to watch him coach and kind of lead that room. But he also has given me a lot of space to bring my input, and he’s been very open to that. … I think that’s been really, really cool for me, and it’s been fun to be in that room with him, and for him to allow me to use my experience to help everybody.”
Dalton’s efforts to help Young haven’t been wasted.
The rookie has already established himself as a bookworm within the building, and Dalton has noticed that Young picks up on the little details quickly. Dalton has been impressed by Young’s football IQ.
“I think he’s got a good understanding of the game of football,” Dalton said. “There was even an example today. We were talking, we had the script, and one of the plays was wrong. And he brought it up to say, ‘This was supposed to be this, right?’ It’s like, yeah, there was supposed to be a different tag on there. So I think his understanding of football is at a really high level. You can tell really early on, he’s got it.”
This story was originally published May 23, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
