Panthers training camp report: Bryce Young makes big plays, one blunder in Sunday workout
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It was a good weekend in Charlotte for second-year quarterback Bryce Young.
After producing a pair of impressive, highlight-reel throws on Saturday, Young continued to thrive during team drills Sunday as the hot sun and the occasional cloud hovered over a padded practice outside of Bank of America Stadium.
Young had a string of strong throws, despite contested coverage. He connected with rookie tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders for a touchdown in the red-zone period, and hit veteran wideout Diontae Johnson on a toss that split two defenders about 15 to 20 yards down the field.
Later on in the practice, during a separate 11-on-11 period, Young made some excellent throws on the move.
The quarterback was flushed out of the pocket to his left due to pressure up the middle and to the right on one play, and he quickly flung a pass to the left sideline for wideout Jonathan Mingo, who caught the ball on a diving snag for a 10- to 12-yard completion. Young followed up that highlight with a throw on the run to his right that hit Johnson in stride for a first-down gain.
“Probably, maybe, some of those throws, he wouldn’t have even attempted last year,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said after practice. “Don’t know why, but I would imagine a lot of it is just [being comfortable] in the system, in what he’s doing, in his footwork — I don’t know, right, like I’m not in his head — but that’s what it feels like to me. Like comfortable in what he’s doing, where his reads are, how he’s progressing, and then just trusting that we’re going to make those contested catches.
“We need to continue to do better, and individually, I need to do better at that — just to help him trust that he can throw it when there’s a defender on your back. That we’re still going to make a play and come down with it.”
Adam Thielen says Bryce Young is trusting his progression
Young was dealing throughout most of the practice. When balls fell to the ground, the failures were typically the result of the defense making a big play in coverage.
The quarterback’s lone legitimate blunder came after the pair of tosses to Mingo and Johnson during the team period.
Young was forced to move around the pocket to find an open receiver. The play took a bit to develop and the pocket was closing, so Young fired a throw off his back foot into double coverage, and safety Xavier Woods came up with an interception for the defense.
With the New York Jets coming to town for a joint practice Thursday, its been encouraging to see Young stack some solid practice performances together. Young didn’t play in the preseason opener against New England, so his first action against another team will be against the Jets, and him improving his play ahead of time is important.
“I think, honestly, in a good way, (his release is) on time this year,” Thielen said. “And honestly, he was probably too quick a lot of times last year. You can really see that he’s just trusting his progression. He’s going through his reads, he’s finding guys in rhythm, in timing, and again, not to say that he wasn’t on time — he was probably too on time sometimes last year — just ‘cause the way he sees the game, he can see coverage, he can see things and process it quicker than a lot of guys.
“So, I think he’s just trusting his reads and where he’s going to go with the ball, and when he’s going to go up there with the ball, and then us kind of having the time to get the footwork that goes along with it and trusting that as receivers.”
Young hasn’t been perfect. He isn’t lighting up the sky. But every practice there are one or two or three moments where he offers a glimpse of his upside as an improviser and playmaker.
Former first-round picks anchor the defense
It’s no secret that cornerback Jaycee Horn and defensive lineman Derrick Brown are considered to be cornerstone players for the Panthers. On Sunday, they showed why they are held in such high regard.
Horn, the team’s 2021 first-round pick, broke up a pair of passes from Young to Johnson. Horn was physical as he overpowered the No. 1 wideout in coverage.
Brown, the team’s top-paid defensive player, later bullied his way through the starting offensive line and batted a Young pass well off the field with the offense’s back facing the end zone.
All three pass breakups were due to strong plays made by Brown and Horn. The defensive highlights set the tone for a competitive practice for both sides of the ball.
Xavier Woods is quite good
Carolina’s safety depth chart is in pretty good shape, even with the injury absence of special teams ace Sam Franklin (foot).
Alex Cook had a nice performance Thursday against the Patriots, while Nick Scott and Jordan Fuller have shown the benefits of having a background with defensive coordinator Ejiro Evero throughout the summer.
But Xavier Woods, one of the team’s longest-tenured defensive starters, has been pretty good since he joined the team in 2022. Last year, Woods had a bit of a breakout campaign and shook some of his previous struggles as a ballhawk.
During camp this year, Woods has made several positive plays. On Sunday, Woods broke up a pass intended for Thielen in 7-on-7 drills. Later in practice, Woods made the aforementioned pick against Young.
The Panthers will be relying on Woods as much they do with Brown and Horn in their respective roles this year.
Panthers roster churn galore!
The Panthers made a handful of roster moves ahead of practice Sunday.
The team signed former New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles guard Jack Anderson following a successful workout, as The Observer first reported on Saturday. They also added defensive tackle Walter Palmore and brought back wide receiver Trayvion Robinson, who was cut earlier in camp.
Anderson, 25, played college ball at Texas Tech. The 6-foot-4, 314-pound lineman can play center and guard, and he has appeared in 15 career games (three starts). Anderson was originally a 2021 seventh-round pick of the Buffalo Bills.
Palmore, 28, played college football at Missouri. The 6-foot-3, 317-pound defensive lineman has bounced around a bit and most recently played for the UFL’s Michigan Panthers. He previously had a short stint with Carolina in 2021.
In order to make room for Anderson, Palmore, and Robinson, the Panthers cut a trio of young players.
The team waived running back Jaden Shirden and cornerback Willie Drew, who were part of the team’s initial undrafted rookie signing class. Wideout Deven Thompkins, who had been playing well after arriving the first week of camp, was waived with an injury designation after sustaining a hamstring injury earlier in the week. Thompkins will be subject to waivers but will revert to the team’s injured reserve list if he goes unclaimed.
Quick hits
▪ Rookie kicker Harrison Mevis went 3 of 5 in his field goal attempts Sunday. He made his first two chip shots before missing his third and fourth attempts, with the latter hitting the crossbar. However, he bounced back and finished practice by nailing a 50-plus-yard field goal to end the session. However, following Sunday’s workout, the Panthers waived Mevis to make room for rookie offensive tackle Tyler Smith. The move effectively, for now, ended the training camp kicking competition.
▪ These players did not participate in practice drills: LB Shaq Thompson (hamstring), TE Tommy Tremble (hamstring), TE Ian Thomas (calf), DB Sam Franklin (foot), LB Cam Gill (hand), C Cade Mays (shoulder), TE Jacob Hollister (undisclosed), G Damien Lewis (personal), DE Jaden Crumedy (ankle), OT Badara Traore (knee), DL LaBryan Ray (illness), WR Xavier Legette (foot) and QB Andy Dalton (quad).
▪ RB Jonathon Brooks (ACL) remains on the active/non-football injury (NFI) list. OT Yosh Nijman (leg) and OLBs D.J. Wonnum (quad) and Amare Barno (ACL) remain on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
▪ Rookie QB Jack Plummer had another excellent toss to WR David Moore in team drills. After Saturday’s highlight connection, Plummer launched an excellent touch pass to the left sideline for Moore, who was open from coverage and took the ball to the end zone for a touchdown. Plummer has had a nice bounce-back weekend from his underwhelming preseason outing.
▪ Despite giving up a sack and getting penalized for a hold against New England, head coach Dave Canales said second-year offensive tackle Ricky Lee had a strong outing against the Patriots. Lee struggled at the right tackle position, but he seemed to be more comfortable after moving to the left side in the second quarter.
▪ Canales also praised Cook, tight end Jordan Matthews, running back Mike Boone and pass rusher Eku Leota for their performances in the preseason opener. All four players were listed as “stock up” players in The Observer’s post-game stock watch column.
▪ Follow Observer reporters Mike Kaye (@mike_e_kaye) and Alex Zietlow (@alexzietlow05), and columnist Scott Fowler (@scott_fowler), on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the Panthers’ latest news and highlights.
