What Bryce Young lacked in size, he more than made up for in everything else the Carolina Panthers were looking for in a franchise quarterback.
The Panthers have used the first overall pick in the NFL draft on Young, who joins Arizona Cardinals star Kyler Murray as the shortest quarterback ever taken at No. 1.
Young and Murray, the first overall pick in 2019, both measured 5-foot-10 1/8 at the time they were drafted.
Young is just the fourth quarterback since 2006 to be drafted after measuring shorter than 6 feet tall at the NFL scouting combine, joining Murray, Johnny Manziel (5-11 3/4 and Russell Wilson (5-10 5/8).
“It’s surreal,” Young said. “As amazing a moment as this is, I can’t wait to get to work and start building on things.”
Panthers general manager Scott Fitterer was with the Seattle Seahawks in 2012 when they drafted Wilson, who became a nine-time Pro Bowler and a Super Bowl champion. Fitterer and new coach Frank Reich made it clear during the pre-draft process that although durability was a concern with Young, the former Alabama star’s height was not.
What impressed the Panthers most was Young’s ability to process information and his leadership, both priorities they were looking for in the new face of the organization and a big reason they sent four draft picks and star receiver DJ Moore to the Chicago Bears to trade up from the No. 9 pick to No. 1.
This is the second time the Panthers have had the top pick on draft day. In 2011, they selected Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, who five years later became the NFL MVP and led Carolina to the Super Bowl.
Young is the fourth straight Heisman-winning quarterback (not including Caleb Williams from 2022) to go No. 1 in the draft, joining Baker Mayfield in 2017, Murray in 2018 and Joe Burrow in 2019.
Carolina will hope Young boosts a team whose quarterbacks ranked near the bottom of the league in several categories last season, including completion percentage (31st), passing yards (29th), total QBR (31st) and passing touchdowns (28th).
He said the Panthers impressed him during his pre-draft visits, which he described as “intricate.”
“Everything was planned out,” he said. “And the way that they viewed the quarterback position, how much I learned from my time being there, even from the visits that I had, it really meant a lot. So I can’t be more excited, and I’m blessed to be a Panther.”