The New York Jets are all too familiar with highly drafted quarterback busts. They’re just recovering from their second consecutive disaster, and their general manager and head coach are lucky to still have jobs.
Bryce Young’s demise with Carolina happened even more rapidly than Zach Wilson’s with the Jets. Perhaps Wilson’s three-game absence to start the 2022 season saved Wilson from the exact same fate.
Now that Young was benched and Andy Dalton looked more than capable with the same roster, it doesn’t seem like Young will be back anytime soon. Although head coach Dave Canales insisted the Panthers do not intend to trade Young, we’ve heard that song before.
Several teams have expressed an interest in trading for Bryce Young, despite the fact that coach Dave Canales said the Carolina Panthersdo not intend to trade the former No. 1 overall pick, league sources told ESPN.https://t.co/7fWFG3xpEf
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 22, 2024
Teams always think they can reclaim talented busts, and it rarely happens. Still, the resurgence of Geno Smith, Baker Mayfield, and now (perhaps) Sam Darnold give teams a reason to at least try.
The obvious candidates to acquire Young are the Miami Dolphins (with Tua Tagovailoa’s season in doubt) and Las Vegas Raiders. However, if neither team strikes, should the Jets be interested?
In theory, the idea makes sense. The Jets have a 40-year-old starter who may not play past this season. Their backup is 35 and quite injury-prone. Bringing in a dart throw to sit and learn isn’t the worst thought in the world. Jordan Travis will likely continue on the non-football injury list all season; Young would be the Jets’ emergency third quarterback.
Interestingly, Robert Saleh recently addressed the young quarterback conundrum in a press conference. Asked about the success of Smith, Mayfield, and Darnold this year, Saleh said, “I’ll use Zach [Wilson] as an example… I still stand here and believe he’s going to have a heck of a career… Sometimes, you get thrown in the fire, and you’re trying to learn, but there’s no patience for learning.
“Some guys hit the ground running, and it’s awesome. Some guys get to teams where that team is just not ready to support a rookie quarterback… You never know, but at the same time, they were drafted early for a reason, and if they can just hang on and get the right opportunity you trust that they may figure it out.”
He added, “Hopefully, we get to the point where we show a little grace with these young kids and give them a chance to develop rather than the other way around… Some people look at it like a lottery ticket and some teams look at it like a long-term investment. I think the long-term investment is the only way to go.”
That’s an interesting about-face from the stance the Jets took in 2021 when they started Wilson without even bringing in any veteran competition.
Regardless, Jets fans remember what the Wilson “reclamation” project looked like last year. There did not appear to be anything to reclaim. Perhaps Wilson will go the way of the Jets’ previous two highly-drafted bust quarterbacks, but the chances seem even smaller than they were with Smith and Darnold.
Therefore, before being tantalized by the No. 1 overall pick pedigree, it’s worth examining why the Panthers benched Young.
Here are Young’s numbers in his rookie season compared to 35 qualified passers (min. 225 dropbacks):
- 59.8% completion percentage (34th)
- 5.5 yards per attempt (35th)
- 11:10 TD:INT ratio
- 1.3% highlight-worthy throw rate (35th)
- 3.8% turnover-worthy throw rate (20th)
- 73.7 passer rating (34th)
- -0.30 EPA per dropback (33rd)
- 37.5% success rate (33rd)
- -40.5% DVOA (34th)
The Panthers were optimistic that Young would improve in his second season after they brought in head coach Dave Canales, guard Robert Hunt, and receivers Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette to help him. Instead, he got worse.
Through two games, Young posted 4.4 yards per attempt, a 0:3 TD:INT ratio, a 44.1 passer rating, -0.60 EPA per dropback, and a 25.4% success rate. At that point, the Panthers could not evaluate the talent of the rest of the offense because Young was playing so poorly. Canales had no choice but to bench him.
To add insult to injury, Young was doing this behind a solid pass-blocking group. As a unit, the Panthers’ pass-blocking ranks fourth-best in the NFL in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking grade.
Per NFL Next Gen Stats, Young was pressured on 31.3% of his dropbacks, the 11th-best mark in the NFL. According to PFF, he was responsible for 42.9% of his own pressure, which means his pass-blocking was stellar.
The film amplifies the realities of the statistics. The fears over Young’s height and slight frame were legitimate. He cannot see the middle of the field. His mechanics have fallen apart, and he does not have the athleticism to make things happen outside the pocket. His chief traits, anticipation and field-reading, have disappeared at the NFL level. His arm strength is also subpar, heightening the other problems.
The Panthers don’t have great weapons, but quarterbacks with solid pass-blocking can usually manage to move the ball downfield at a reasonably effective rate. Even Zach Wilson looked competent at times when he had time to throw (although he also caused a lot of his pressure). Young averaged 4.5 yards per attempt with two interceptions when he was kept clean.
Because Young does not have the physical upside of most highly-drafted quarterbacks, he must be perfect in the other areas of his game. The fact that he has been so bad in those areas means there is almost nothing for coaches to work with. It’s also easier to give up on such a quarterback because there just aren’t the same occasional wow plays you’d see from a Wilson or Anthony Richardson or Trey Lance.
From that angle, there is little reason for the Jets to acquire him. They’d simply be wasting a Day 3 pick. If they want to develop a quarterback, fifth-rounder Jordan Travis has the same physical limitations as Young without the salary or the early miserable failure. They should not bother to replace Zach Wilson on the bench.
This is quite a long article to come to the most obvious conclusion. But when big names become available (or even potentially available), fans usually start fitting those players in with the team. With Young, the answer is a resounding no.
