Panthers move Bryce Young past veteran Andy Dalton on QB depth chart - The Athletic

Rookie Bryce Young closed in on becoming the Panthers’ starting quarterback over veteran Andy Dalton on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:

• Young took all the first-team reps during Thursday’s OTA practice, the only OTA session open to the media this week.
• Coach Frank Reich said he and general manager Scott Fitterer had targeted this week as the time to make the transition to push Young atop the depth chart above Dalton.
• Reich and Fitterer told both quarterbacks about the switch last week.
• Both Dalton and Young have been taking first-team reps in organized team activity practices.
• Dalton signed with the Panthers in March and has been mentoring Young and third-teamer Matt Corral.

GO DEEPER

Panthers OTA takeaways: Bryce Young takes next step, Jaycee Horn sidelined again

Another step in the Bryce Young era. The Panthers rookie is taking the first snaps with the first-team offense for the first time today (at least in practices open to the media). He had about three weeks behind Andy Dalton during OTAs.

— Joe Person (@josephperson) June 8, 2023

The Athletic’s instant analysis:

Young sitting as QB1, but not ‘starter’

From the moment the Panthers drafted Young with the No. 1 pick, there’s been little doubt the Heisman Trophy winner from Alabama would be the Week 1 starting quarterback. And while Reich isn’t ready to make that announcement yet, the Panthers first-year coach was ready to move Young ahead of Dalton on the depth chart.

So when will Reich be comfortable enough to officially name Young the starter?

“Not yet,” Reich said. “He’s showing everything you want to see. But this goes back to even the draft decision – you don’t make a decision until you have to make it. We’re just giving him and our team the opportunity to get better and to earn that starting role.”

Young had a solid day Thursday, including a long touchdown pass to wideout D.J. Chark down the left sideline. Chark was not the first read on the play, but Young uncorked a nice spiral to the receiver.

“I can tell you now that he has the respect of everyone in that locker room, and he hasn’t done anything to lose that respect,” Chark said of Young. “He only continues to gain it. We’re here for him … and we believe he can take us to some really high places.” — Person

Dalton still valuable to Panthers

Dalton knew what he was signing up for when he left the Saints in free agency and signed a deal with Carolina. But it’s not like Dalton would be a bad option as a backup in a pinch for the Panthers.

The quarterback finished ninth in passer rating (95.2) and 10th in completion percentage (66.7) among qualified quarterbacks (33 qualified) last season. His Expected Points Added per dropback rate (via TruMedia) was slightly below the league average ranking, coming in 20th at 0.02. He did excel against the blitz, though, with a 0.17 EPA per dropback rate in those situations, which ranked No. 6 among qualified QBs.

The Saints went 6-8 with Dalton under center last season. — Holder

Backstory

Carolina selected Young with the No. 1 pick after the quarterback passed for more than 8,000 yards in two seasons as Alabama’s starting quarterback. Young won the Heisman Trophy in 2021 when he threw for 4,872 yards and 47 touchdowns in 15 games.

Dalton has been in this spot before. He signed with the Bears in 2021 a month before Chicago drafted Justin Fields in the first round. Fields took over as the starter in Week 3 after Dalton suffered a bone bruise on his knee.

Dalton started 14 games for New Orleans last season after Jameis Winston was injured. The Bengals selected Dalton in the second round of the 2011 NFL Draft, the same year the Panthers took QB Cam Newton at No. 1.

Dalton, 35, previously said he’s tried to help Young, 21, with some of the little things in making the transition to the NFL, such as the mechanics of getting in and out of the huddle.

“I think his understanding of football is really high level,” Dalton said of Young. “You can tell early on that he’s got it.”

Required reading

(Photo: Jim Dedmon / USA Today)

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