New Carolina Panthers head coach Dave Canales gave his first impressions of second-year quarterback Bryce Young as players reported for voluntary workouts on Monday.
Canales was impressed with Young’s knowledge and performance in the new system as he raved about the former Alabama quarterback to the media.
“He’s doing fantastic with it,” Canales said according to ESPN. “So, for us the formations are pretty vanilla so we can just teach the concept we want out of each route, the depth, the footwork we want. As I expect him to do, he’s really mastered that part of it.”
After becoming the first overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Young had a disastrous rookie season under then head coach Frank Reich who was fired part way through the year. The Panthers also implemented several different play-callers with Young, creating a hectic environment for the rookie.
Young is now paired with Canales who accepted the head coaching job after an impressive year as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator where he helped Baker Mayfield revive his career and lead the team to the postseason.
While under Canales, Mayfield posted the best completion percentage of his career at 64%, which has been a strength of Young’s early-on in workouts that has the new head coach excited.
“Deep balls, short, intermediate, he’s a really accurate passer,” Canales said. “One of the things I really love is I can really focus on the footwork, his base and the mechanics of where his eyes are at when I know the ball is hitting the receivers.”
Nothing will be completely fixed in just one workout, but it’s an encouraging start as Young tries to build his career in the NFL.
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